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Modifying the Pores of an Inverse Opal Scaffold With Chitosan Microstructures for Truly Three‐Dimensional Cell Culture
Author(s) -
Zhang Yu,
Choi SungWook,
Xia Younan
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
macromolecular rapid communications
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.348
H-Index - 154
eISSN - 1521-3927
pISSN - 1022-1336
DOI - 10.1002/marc.201100695
Subject(s) - scaffold , tissue engineering , materials science , inverse , nanotechnology , porosity , chitosan , biophysics , chemical engineering , composite material , biomedical engineering , biology , mathematics , geometry , engineering , medicine
Inverse opal scaffolds have recently emerged as a novel class of scaffolds with uniform and controllable pore sizes for tissue engineering to provide better nutrient transport, a uniform cell distribution, and an adjustable microenvironment for cell differentiation. However, when the pore size of the scaffold is much larger than the dimension of a cell, the cell actually encounters a local 2D environment and the void space associated with the pore can not be efficiently utilized. Here, we demonstrate that a truly 3D microenvironment can be created inside a pore by further functionalizing the as‐prepared inverse opal scaffold with a second polymer by freeze‐drying. The resultant inverse opal scaffold with hierarchically structured pores can enhance both cell proliferation and tissue infiltration.