Title
Ultrasound micromolding of porous polylactide/hydroxyapatite scaffolds
Date Issued
01 January 2021
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Olmo C.
Franco L.
Vidal A.
Puiggalí J.
Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya
Publisher(s)
BME-PT and GTE
Abstract
Ultrasound micromolding (USM) preparation of hybrid scaffolds based on polylactide (PLA) and hydroxyapatite (HAp) particles has been evaluated. PLA was stable under the applied ultrasound source since a minimum degradation was detected. Porous materials were achieved using polyethylene glycol (PEG) and NaCl salts to the initial PLA and the subsequent leaching of the micromolded specimens. To avoid cavitation and decomposition problems during micromolding, it was necessary to use HAp free of typical synthesis impurities like carbonate and nitrate compounds. Compact PLA/HAp pieces allowed a maximum HAp load of 60 wt%, while porous specimens could be obtained with a maximum load of 38 wt%. Physical characterization of new scaffolds was performed by X-ray diffraction, spectroscopic and calorimetric techniques, stress-strain tests and contact angle measurements. Results indicated that a degree of porosity of 35% and relatively good mechanical properties could be achieved (i.e., 580 MPa, 4%, and 15.6 MPa for the Young modulus, elongation at break, and tensile strength, respectively). Scaffolds showed the positive effect of HAp and porosity on cell proliferation; this latter was 40% higher than that detected for non-porous PLA specimens.
Start page
389
End page
403
Volume
15
Issue
5
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Ingeniería química
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85102305412
Source
Express Polymer Letters
ISSN of the container
1788618X
Sponsor(s)
The authors acknowledge support from MINECO and FEDER (RTI2018-101827-B-I00) and the Generalitat de Catalunya (2017SGR373). Diffraction experiments were performed at the NCD-SWEET beamline at ALBA Synchrotron with the collaboration of ALBA staff.
Sources of information: Directorio de Producción Científica Scopus