Affiliation:
1. Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II, 84084, Fisciano, Italy
Abstract
Background:
Scaffolds can be used to substitute the extracellular matrix and to
favour the generation of tissues and organs. Until now, various processes have been implemented
for scaffolds generation, but they are characterized by several limits.
Methods:
In this work, we tested a supercritical fluids assisted process for the generation of
nano-structured biopolymeric scaffolds; it is characterized by three steps: generation of a
polymeric gel (loaded with a porogen), drying of the gel using supercritical CO2, waterwashing
to remove the porogen.
Results:
3D Poly(D,L-lactic acid) scaffolds have been obtained, characterized by very high
porosity (> 90%) and surface are (> 200 m2/g), and by a fibrous nanostructure (fibres ranging
between 60 and 400 nm) superimposed to a micrometric cellular structure.
Conclusion:
Moreover, suitable mechanical properties (up to 125 KPa) and very low solvents
residue (< 5 ppm) have been obtained.
Publisher
Bentham Science Publishers Ltd.
Subject
General Chemical Engineering