Abstract
The highly porous structure and hydrophilic surface of tissue-engineered scaffolds have proven to be effective for cell attachment. In this study, we fabricated a polycaprolactone/pluronic F127 (PCL/F127) composite scaffold using a three-dimensional (3D) printing system; the mechanical properties, porosity, and hydrophilicity of the PCL/F127 scaffold was compared to a polycaprolactone (PCL) scaffold. Both PCL and PCL/F127 scaffolds exhibited uniform interconnected strands under scanning electron microscopy observation. The PCL scaffold exhibited no pores in its strands; however, the PCL/F127 scaffold included nano- (∼200 nm) and micropores. Compared with the PCL scaffold, the PCL/F127 scaffold had a hydrophilic surface (contact angle measurement ≈0°). Although the PCL/F127 scaffold (4.07±0.11 MPa) had a lower compressive strength than the PCL scaffold (5.09±0.10 MPa), the surface of the PCL/F127 scaffold was fully covered by cells due to its enhanced surface properties. These results indicated that our developed scaffolds may be useful for rapid tissue repair in biomedical engineering.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 11943-11946 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology |
Volume | 16 |
Issue number | 11 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2016 |
Keywords
- 3D-printing
- Hydrophilicity
- Polycaprolactone
- Porosity
- Scaffold