Fabrication of biomimetic poly(propylene carbonate) scaffolds by using carbon dioxide as a solvent, monomer and foaming agent
作者:Xia Zhong、Fariba Dehghani
DOI:10.1039/c2gc35608b
日期:——
The aim of this study was to develop an environmentally friendly process for the fabrication of three dimensional (3D) biomimetic scaffolds from biodegradable poly(propylene carbonate) (PPC). Prior to production of scaffolds, PPC was synthesized using a one-pot process in which the zinc glutarate catalyst was first fabricated in a supercritical CO2 system. The scaffolds were then prepared by gas foaming/salt leaching followed by aminolysis and layer-by-layer (LBL) gelatin assembly on the surface. The pore size and interconnectivity were controlled by the variation of gas foaming process parameters such as temperature, CO2 pressure, depressurization rate and particle size of salt (NaCl). The pore size was within the range of 116 ± 53 to 418 ± 84 μm and the porosity was between 69.8 and 92.3%. The results of micro-CT scan analysis demonstrated that porosity and pore interconnectivity were enhanced by increasing the pore size. However, the compressive modulus of hydrated scaffolds was decreased from 380 ± 90 to 200 ± 50 kPa, when the pore size was increased from 232 ± 91 to 411 ± 108 μm. The results of fluorescence microscopy demonstrated that gelatin was uniformly deposited on the 3D scaffolds. Surface modification of hydrophobic PPC scaffolds substantially increased the fibroblast cells attachment, penetration, and proliferation. The results of this study demonstrated the feasibility of eliminating toxic organic solvents in the synthesis of a solid based catalyst and processing PPC polymer into tissue scaffolds. The clean technology developed will be of great value for large scale production of biodegradable PPC that can be used for many purposes such as packaging products and plastic bags. In addition, it was shown that PPC can be considered as an alternative biomaterial for tissue engineering applications.
本研究旨在开发一种环境友好型工艺,利用可生物降解的聚(碳酸丙烯酯)(PPC)制造三维(3D)仿生支架。在生产支架之前,采用一锅法合成聚丙烯碳酸酯,首先在超临界二氧化碳系统中制造戊二酸锌催化剂。然后通过气体发泡/盐浸制备支架,接着进行氨解并在表面逐层(LBL)组装明胶。通过改变气发泡工艺参数,如温度、二氧化碳压力、减压速率和盐(氯化钠)的粒度,来控制孔径和互连性。孔径在 116 ± 53 至 418 ± 84 μm 之间,孔隙率在 69.8 至 92.3% 之间。显微 CT 扫描分析结果表明,孔隙率和孔隙互连性随着孔径的增大而增强。然而,当孔径从 232 ± 91 μm 增加到 411 ± 108 μm 时,水合支架的压缩模量从 380 ± 90 kPa 下降到 200 ± 50 kPa。荧光显微镜的结果表明,明胶均匀地沉积在三维支架上。疏水性 PPC 支架的表面改性大大提高了成纤维细胞的附着、穿透和增殖能力。这项研究的结果证明了在合成固体催化剂和将 PPC 聚合物加工成组织支架的过程中去除有毒有机溶剂的可行性。所开发的清洁技术对于大规模生产可生物降解的 PPC 具有重要价值,这种 PPC 可用于包装产品和塑料袋等多种用途。此外,研究还表明,PPC 可被视为组织工程应用的替代生物材料。