Gas foamed open porous biodegradable polymeric microspheres

Biomaterials. 2006 Jan;27(2):152-9. doi: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2005.05.081.

Abstract

Highly open porous biodegradable polymeric microspheres were fabricated for use as injectable scaffold microcarriers for cell delivery. A modified water-in-oil-in-water (W1/O/W2) double emulsion solvent evaporation method was employed for producing the microspheres. The incorporation of an effervescent salt, ammonium bicarbonate, in the primary W1 droplets spontaneously produced carbon dioxide and ammonia gas bubbles during the solvent evaporation process, which not only stabilized the primary emulsion, but also created well inter-connected pores in the resultant microspheres. The porous microspheres fabricated under various gas foaming conditions were characterized. The surface pores became as large as 20 microm in diameter with increasing the concentration of ammonium bicarbonate, being sufficient enough for cell infiltration and seeding. These porous scaffold microspheres could be potentially utilized for cultivating cells in a suspension manner and for delivering the seeded cells to the tissue defect site in an injectable manner.

Publication types

  • Evaluation Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Absorbable Implants
  • Animals
  • Bicarbonates / chemistry
  • Biocompatible Materials / chemistry
  • Cattle
  • Cell Proliferation
  • Drug Carriers*
  • Emulsions / chemistry
  • Gases*
  • Lactic Acid / chemistry*
  • Materials Testing
  • Mice
  • Microspheres*
  • NIH 3T3 Cells
  • Particle Size
  • Polyglycolic Acid / chemistry*
  • Polylactic Acid-Polyglycolic Acid Copolymer
  • Polymers / chemistry*
  • Solvents / chemistry
  • Surface Properties

Substances

  • Bicarbonates
  • Biocompatible Materials
  • Drug Carriers
  • Emulsions
  • Gases
  • Polymers
  • Solvents
  • Polylactic Acid-Polyglycolic Acid Copolymer
  • Polyglycolic Acid
  • Lactic Acid
  • ammonium bicarbonate