New insights in the morphological characterization and modelling of poly(ε-caprolactone) bone scaffolds obtained by supercritical CO2 foaming

• Published in: The Journal of supercritical fluids 2020-12, Vol.166, p.105012, Article 105012
• Main Authors: Santos-Rosales, Víctor, Gallo, Marta, Jaeger, Philip, Alvarez-Lorenzo, Carmen, Gómez-Amoza, José L., García-González, Carlos A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 3D-biodegradable scaffolds; 3D-modelling; Bone regeneration; Pore interconnectivity; Supercritical foaming; X-ray microtomography
• ISSN: 0896-8446; 1872-8162
• DOI: 10.1016/j.supflu.2020.105012

[Display omitted] •Process-structure-functionality relationships of manufactured scaffolds were elucidated.•The combined μ-CT/MIP analysis allowed a full morphological characterization of scaffolds.•CO2 soaking time had a dramatical effect on the scaffold architectures•3D models of the porous structure were obtained for the manufactured scaffolds.•Scaffolds were screened from in silico cell infiltration and water permeability tests. Hierarchically porous synthetic bone grafts (scaffolds) are gaining attention in the clinical arena. Scaffolds should combine morphological (macro- and microporosity, pore interconnectivity), mechanical and biological (biocompatibility, degradation rate) properties to fit this specific use. Supercritical (sc-) foaming is a versatile scaffold processing technology. However, the selection of the optimum operating conditions to obtain a defined scaffold structure is hampered by the lack of a single characterization technique able to fully elucidate the porous features of the resulting scaffolds. In this work, the effect of soaking time (1, 3 and 5 h) on the preparation of poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL, 50 kDa) scaffolds by sc-foaming was evaluated by a combined X-ray microtomography (μ-CT) and mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) 3D-morphological analysis. Mechanical tests and in silico modelling for cell penetration and water permeability of the scaffolds were also conducted. Results evidenced the relevance of μ-CT and MIP as a synergistic analytical duo to fully elucidate the morphology of the sc-foamed scaffolds and the soaking time effect.