Effect of Different Manufacturing Methods on the Conflict between Porosity and Mechanical Properties of Spiral and Porous Polyethylene Terephthalate/Sodium Alginate Bone Scaffolds

Ching-Wen Lou; Chien-Lin Huang; Chih-Kuang Chen; Chi-Fan Liu; Shih-Peng Wen; Jia-Horng Lin

doi:10.3390/ma8125488

Effect of Different Manufacturing Methods on the Conflict between Porosity and Mechanical Properties of Spiral and Porous Polyethylene Terephthalate/Sodium Alginate Bone Scaffolds

Materials (Basel). 2015 Dec 14;8(12):8768-8779. doi: 10.3390/ma8125488.

Authors

Ching-Wen Lou¹, Chien-Lin Huang², Chih-Kuang Chen³, Chi-Fan Liu⁴, Shih-Peng Wen⁵, Jia-Horng Lin^{6

7

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Affiliations

¹ Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Materials Science, Central Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taichung 40601, Taiwan. cwlou@ctust.edu.tw.
² Department of Fiber and Composite Materials, Feng Chia University, Taichung City 40724, Taiwan. clhuang@mail.fcu.edu.tw.
³ The Polymeric Biomaterials Lab, Department of Fiber and Composite Materials, Feng Chia University, Taichung City 40724, Taiwan. chihkchen@fcu.edu.tw.
⁴ Office of Physical Education and Sports Affairs, Feng Chia University, Taichung 40724, Taiwan. cfliu@fcuoa.fcu.edu.tw.
⁵ Laboratory of Fiber Application and Manufacturing, Department of Fiber and Composite Materials, Feng Chia University, Taichung City 40724, Taiwan. waz770207@gmail.com.
⁶ Laboratory of Fiber Application and Manufacturing, Department of Fiber and Composite Materials, Feng Chia University, Taichung City 40724, Taiwan. jhlin@fcu.edu.tw.
⁷ School of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung 40402, Taiwan. jhlin@fcu.edu.tw.
⁸ Department of Fashion Design, Asia University, Taichung 41354, Taiwan. jhlin@fcu.edu.tw.

Abstract

In order to solve the incompatibility between high porosity and mechanical properties, this study fabricates bone scaffolds by combining braids and sodium alginate (SA) membranes. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plied yarns are braided into hollow, porous three dimensional (3D) PET braids, which are then immersed in SA solution, followed by cross-linking with calcium chloride (CaCl₂) and drying, to form PET bone scaffolds. Next, SA membranes are rolled and then inserted into the braids to form the spiral and porous PET/SA bone scaffolds. Samples are finally evaluated for surface observation, porosity, water contact angle, compressive strength, and MTT assay. The test results show that the PET bone scaffolds and PET/SA bone scaffolds both have good hydrophilicity. An increasing number of layers and an increasing CaCl₂ concentration cause the messy, loose surface structure to become neat and compact, which, in turn, decreases the porosity and increases the compressive strength. The MTT assay results show that the cell viability of differing SA membranes is beyond 100%, indicating that the PET/SA bone scaffolds containing SA membranes are biocompatible for cell attachment and proliferation.

Keywords: bone scaffold; braid; plied yarns; sodium alginate (SA).