EFFECTS OF SCAFFOLD DESIGN PARAMETERS AND LOCAL ENVIRONMENT ON BIOPOLYMER SCAFFOLD DEGRADATION

摘要

Biodegradable polymers have been extensively used in tissue engineering as temporary porous scaffolding structures to host or guide tissue/organ regeneration. The advantage lies in that the polymers degrade away harmlessly in the body. One key requirement in tissue scaffold design is to control the scaffolding degradation and erosion that synchronize the new cell/tissue growth. The degradation and/or erosion for biodegradable polymers are influenced by a multitude of factors. This paper presents an in vitro experimental study to examine effects of scaffold design parameters and local environment on the degradation rate of biopolymer scaffolds. Parameters considered are scaffold pore size, material composition and cellular activity.