Surface Modification of Sponge-like Porous Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate- co -4-hydroxybutyrate)/Gelatine Blend Scaffolds for Potential Biomedical Applications

• Published in: Polymers 2022-04, Vol.14 (9), p.1710
• Main Authors: Azuraini, Mat Junoh, Vigneswari, Sevakumaran, Huong, Kai-Hee, Khairul, Wan M, H P S, Abdul Khalil, Ramakrishna, Seeram, Amirul, Al-Ashraf Abdullah
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adsorption; Biocompatibility; Biological properties; Biomedical materials; Biopolymers; Cell adhesion & migration; Composition; Copolymers; Fourier transforms; Medical research; Morphology; Polymers; Pore size; Porosity; Scaffolds; Scanning electron microscopy; Software; Solvents; Spectrum analysis; Sutures; Tissue engineering; Water absorption
• ISSN: 2073-4360; 2073-4360
• DOI: 10.3390/polym14091710

In this study, we described the preparation of sponge-like porous scaffolds that are feasible for medical applications. A porous structure provides a good microenvironment for cell attachment and proliferation. In this study, a biocompatible PHA, poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-4-hydroxybutyrate) was blended with gelatine to improve the copolymer's hydrophilicity, while structural porosity was introduced into the scaffold via a combination of solvent casting and freeze-drying techniques. Scanning electron microscopy results revealed that the blended scaffolds exhibited higher porosity when the 4HB compositions of P(3HB- -4HB) ranged from 27 mol% to 50 mol%, but porosity decreased with a high 4HB monomer composition of 82 mol%. The pore size, water absorption capacity, and cell proliferation assay results showed significant improvement after the final weight of blend scaffolds was reduced by half from the initial 0.79 g to 0.4 g. The pore size of 0.79g-(P27mol%G10) increased three-fold while the water absorption capacity of 0.4g-(P50mol%G10) increased to 325%. Meanwhile, the cell proliferation and attachment of 0.4g-(P50mol%G10) and 0.4g-(P82mol%G7.5) increased as compared to the initial seeding number. Based on the overall data obtained, we can conclude that the introduction of a small amount of gelatine into P(3HB-co-4HB) improved the physical and biological properties of blend scaffolds, and the 0.4g-(P50mol%G10) shows great potential for medical applications considering its unique structure and properties.