Morphology and Mechanical Properties of 3D Porous PLA/PCL Scaffolds

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Department of Materials Science and Engineering, School of Engineering, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran

Abstract

Fabrication and evaluation of tissue engineering scaffolds is a new research field that has significant applications in medicine. Various polymers have been considered for the fabrication of bone scaffolds due to their biocompatibility, biodegradability, and excellent mechanical properties. Polycaprolactone and polylactic acid are both biodegradable and biocompatible polymers, nevertheless, polylactic acid is brittle and polycaprolactone is hydrophobic, which reduces cell adhesion on the surface. Therefore, the mixture of these two polymers can be an effective way to develop a new biomaterial. In the present study, PLA/PCL scaffolds with different PLA/PCL weight ratios were fabricated by solvent casting/particle leaching method. To evaluate morphology, wettability, and mechanical properties of the scaffolds, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), contact angle goniometer, compression and tensile test were respectively used. The SEM images of the samples showed that all the samples have porosity in the range of 70-85% with a size of 250-500 micrometers, which is suitable for infiltration, proliferation and growth of cells. The measurement of the contact angle of the samples showed that the presence of PLA has increased the hydrophilicity of composite samples. PCL/PLA samples have less ductility and higher stiffness than pure PCL. However, the weak interface of PLA and PCL has caused some composite samples to have less strength than PCL. PCL/PLA scaffold can be a promising candidate for bone tissue engineering.

Keywords

References

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Iranian Journal of Materials Forming
Volume 11, Issue 3
July 2024
Pages 21-27

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