TY - JOUR
T1 - Fabrication and characterization of macroporous poly(ethylene glycol) hydrogels generated by several types of porogens
AU - Sáez-Martínez, Virginia
AU - Atorrasagasti, Garbiñe
AU - Olalde, Beatriz
AU - Madarieta, Iratxe
AU - Morin, Fabrice
AU - Garagorri, Nerea
PY - 2013/5/20
Y1 - 2013/5/20
N2 - Polymer scaffolds play an important role in tissue engineering applications. Poly(ethylene glycol) based hydrogels have received a lot of attention in this field because of their high biocompatibility and ease of processing. However, in many cases they do not exhibit proper tissue invasion and nutrient transport because of their dense structure. In the present work, several approaches were developed and compared to each other to produce interconnected macroporous poly(ethylene glycol) hydrogels by including different types of porogens in the photocrosslinking reaction. The swelling capacity of the resulting hydrogels was analyzed and compared to non-porous hydrogel samples. Moreover, the obtained materials were characterized by means of mechanical properties and porosity using rheometry, scanning electron microscopy, and mercury intrusion porosimetry. Results showed that interconnected and uniform pores were obtained when a porogen template was used during hydrogel fabrication by photocrosslinking. On the other side, when the porogen particles were dispersed into the macromer solution before matrix photocrosslinking the interconnexion was negligible. The templates must be dissolved before the hydrogel's cell-seeding in vitro, while the dispersed porogen can be used in situ in the in vitro seeding tests.
AB - Polymer scaffolds play an important role in tissue engineering applications. Poly(ethylene glycol) based hydrogels have received a lot of attention in this field because of their high biocompatibility and ease of processing. However, in many cases they do not exhibit proper tissue invasion and nutrient transport because of their dense structure. In the present work, several approaches were developed and compared to each other to produce interconnected macroporous poly(ethylene glycol) hydrogels by including different types of porogens in the photocrosslinking reaction. The swelling capacity of the resulting hydrogels was analyzed and compared to non-porous hydrogel samples. Moreover, the obtained materials were characterized by means of mechanical properties and porosity using rheometry, scanning electron microscopy, and mercury intrusion porosimetry. Results showed that interconnected and uniform pores were obtained when a porogen template was used during hydrogel fabrication by photocrosslinking. On the other side, when the porogen particles were dispersed into the macromer solution before matrix photocrosslinking the interconnexion was negligible. The templates must be dissolved before the hydrogel's cell-seeding in vitro, while the dispersed porogen can be used in situ in the in vitro seeding tests.
KW - gelatin
KW - template
KW - salt
KW - porosity
KW - porogens
KW - paraffin
KW - morphology
KW - hydrogel
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84876138106&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/00914037.2012.734353
U2 - 10.1080/00914037.2012.734353
DO - 10.1080/00914037.2012.734353
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84876138106
SN - 0091-4037
VL - 62
SP - 502
EP - 508
JO - International Journal of Polymeric Materials
JF - International Journal of Polymeric Materials
IS - 9
ER -