(571bc) Three-Dimensional Tubular Porous Materials for Directed Cellular Growth

Scaffolds have been of great interest to the field of tissue engineering for their applicability in cell culturing and cell delivery. Especially, the topographical features of 3D scaffolds actively regulate the growth of many types of cells and promote organization of cell clusters. Biodegradable and synthetic porous polymeric materials used in biological scaffolding offer superior flexibility and compatibility for directed cellular growth. Our work is concerned with the development and study of cell attachment and propagation in tubular polymeric scaffolds. The effect of a highly periodic pore structure and the size of the pores are the focus of this study.

We have assembled 10 and 16 μm sized sulfate-polystyrene (PS) colloids in 105 and 360 μm inner-diameter polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) capillary templates. Fabrication of a porous material from this template is achieved by infiltrating biodegradable and synthetic polymeric materials into the interstitial spaces of the close packed colloidal crystal. Each polymeric solution is subsequently polymerized and cross-linked leading to a colloid-polymer matrix. Matrix is treated with a sequence of solvents to remove both the PMMA capillary and the PS colloids forming tubular porous 3D materials.

We have investigated the structures of the 3D porous materials using scanning electron microscopy. Additionally, initial compatibility tests with various types of cells are presented.