Design, fabrication and characterization of tailored poly[(R)-3-hydroxybutyrate-co-(R)-3-hydroxyexanoate] scaffolds by computer-aided wet-spinning
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe the fabrication and characterization of poly[(R)-3-hydroxybutyrate-co-(R)-3-hydroxyexanoate] (PHBHHx) tissue engineering scaffolds with anatomical shape and customized porous structure.
Design/methodology/approach
Scaffolds with external shape and size modeled on a critical size segment of a rabbit’s radius model and an internal macrochanneled porous structure were designed and fabricated by means of a computer-aided wet-spinning (CAWS) technique. Morphological, thermal and mechanical characterization were carried out to assess the effect of the fabrication process on material properties and the potential of the PHBHHx scaffolds in comparison with anatomical star poly(e-caprolactone) (*PCL) scaffolds previously validated in vivo.
Findings
The CAWS technique is well suited for the layered manufacturing of anatomical PHBHHx scaffolds with a tailored porous architecture characterized by a longitudinal macrochannel. Morphological analysis showed that the scaffolds were composed by overlapping layers of microfibers with a spongy morphology, forming a 3D interconnected network of pores. Physical-chemical characterization indicated that the used technique did not affect the molecular structure of the processed polymer. Analysis of the compressive and tensile mechanical properties of the scaffolds highlighted the anisotropic behavior of the porous structure and the effect of the macrochannel in enhancing scaffold compressive stiffness. In comparison to the *PCL scaffolds, PHBHHx scaffolds showed higher compressive stiffness and tensile deformability.
Originality/value
This study shows the possibility of using renewable microbial polyester for the fabrication of scaffolds with anatomical shape and internal architecture tailored for in vivo bone regeneration studies.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This study was supported by the EC-Funded project Hyanji Scaffold in the People Program of the 7FP (contract grant number: PIRSES-GA-2008-230791). PHBHHx was kindly supplied by Professor Guo-Qiang Chen of Tsinghua University (Beijing, China) within the framework of the Hyanji Scaffold project. Professor Ramani Narayan of Michigan Biotechnology Institute (MI, USA) is acknowledged for supplying *PCL. Authors are grateful to Dr Randa Ishak for her support in recording SEM images.
Citation
Puppi, D., Pirosa, A., Morelli, A. and Chiellini, F. (2018), "Design, fabrication and characterization of tailored poly[(R)-3-hydroxybutyrate-co-(R)-3-hydroxyexanoate] scaffolds by computer-aided wet-spinning", Rapid Prototyping Journal, Vol. 24 No. 1, pp. 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1108/RPJ-03-2016-0037
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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