Preparation and properties of a biodegradable poly(lactide-co-glycolide)/poly(trimethylene carbonate) porous composite scaffold for bone tissue engineering

Abstract

Herein, a technique for the preparation of a new poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA)/poly(trimethylene carbonate) (PTMC) composite porous polymeric structure involving blending polymers with salt particles via freeze-drying/particulate leaching was developed. This developed technique combined the advantages of both the solution freeze-drying and particulate leaching techniques. The polymer–salt composite was processed using the corresponding method in devices with various shapes and sizes, which could subsequently be extracted to yield the desired porous structures. The effects of different preparation conditions on the properties of the microstructures, connectivity, porosity and compressible strength of the composites were investigated. Depending on the preparatory conditions, including the salt proportion and solution concentration, the resulting porosity of the porous structure was in the range of 80–98%, and the compression strength of the composite varied in the range of 0.56 MPa to 7.98 MPa. Moreover, the cell proliferation results confirmed that the porous polymeric scaffold exhibited good biocompatibility. Consequently, the results indicated that 85 wt% NaCl and 20 w/v% solution concentration were the optimum conditions to achieve the best mechanical enhancement effect and in vitro bioactivity, suggesting that this composite has great potential to be used as a bone repair material in the future.