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Morphological examination of highly porous polylactic acid/ B ioglass ® scaffolds produced via nonsolvent induced phase separation
Author(s) -
Rezabeigi Ehsan,
WoodAdams Paula M.,
Drew Robin A. L.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
journal of biomedical materials research part b: applied biomaterials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.665
H-Index - 108
eISSN - 1552-4981
pISSN - 1552-4973
DOI - 10.1002/jbm.b.33784
Subject(s) - polylactic acid , materials science , porosity , mesoporous material , chemical engineering , crystallinity , composite number , bioactive glass , composite material , chemistry , polymer , organic chemistry , engineering , catalysis
In this study, we produce highly porous (up to ∼91%) composite scaffolds of polylactic acid (PLA) containing 2 wt % sol‐gel‐derived 45S5 Bioglass ® particles via nonsolvent induced phase separation at −23°C with no sacrificial phases involved. Before the incorporation of the bioglass with PLA, the particles are surface modified with a silane coupling agent which effectively diminishes agglomeration between them leading to a better dispersion of bioactive particles throughout the scaffold. Interestingly, the incorporation route (via solvent dichloromethane or nonsolvent hexane) of the surface modified particles in the foaming process has the greatest impact on porosity, crystallinity, and morphology of the scaffolds. The composite scaffolds with a morphology consisting of both mesopores and large macropores, which is potentially beneficial for bone regeneration applications, are examined further. SEM images show that the surface modified bioglass particles take‐up a unique configuration within the mesoporous structure of these scaffolds ensuring that the particles are well interlocked but not completely covered by PLA such that they can be in contact with physiological fluids. The results of preliminary in vitro tests confirm that this PLA/bioglass configuration promotes the interaction of the bioactive phase with physiological fluids. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 105B: 2433–2442, 2017.