Three-dimensional scaffolds for enhanced tissue regeneration

• Main Author: Ng, Siang Chin.
• Other Authors: Chew Sing Yian
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2009
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Chemical engineering::Biotechnology
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/16466
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Three dimensional scaffolds are crucial for the proliferation of cells and maintenance of their differentiated functions. These functions of the scaffold are achieved via the interconnectivity, pore size/curvature, microporosity and macroporosity that influence cellular responses. At present, scaffolds were created with optimizations performed for the 2D scaffolds. However the most important factor in determining the success of a scaffold lies in the porosity of the 3D scaffold structure. Although several fabrication methods have been discussed on generating a successful 3D scaffold, much of them were lacking in the area of a mixture of microporosity and macroporosity within the scaffold. For instance, several methods such as electrospinning would favour the creation of microporosity for nutrient delivery in a 3D scaffold; however it lacks the power to create large pores for cell mitigation within the scaffold. Similarly, salt leaching techniques would favour the opposite, losing the focus on the microporosity requirement for a 3D scaffold. The purpose of this study would be to combine two techniques to create a 3D scaffold using the electrospinning and salt leaching fabrication methods, to form a 3D scaffold with a desirable mixture of macro and microporosity. This would involve looking into possible ways of introducing salt crystals into the electrospinning process. A preliminary study on the feasibility of merging these two fabrication methods is performed through a manual salt dispersion method and subsequently analyzed for any problems and difficulties. After which, salt crystals dissolved in different solvents were used as means of different methods for the salt dispersion via electrospraying. Lastly, direct incorporation of the salt crystals into the electrospinning medium was performed and examined. The findings would be useful as an initial study for the pros and cons and feasibility of merging the electrospinning and the traditional salt leaching method and would provide further insights into other possible ways to further optimise and fine-tune to obtain the desired micro and macro porosity in the scaffold.