Effects of low temperature hydrogen peroxide gas on sterilization and cytocompatibility of porous poly(d,l-lactic-co-glycolic acid) scaffolds

Biodegradable poly(d,l-lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) has been widely used as a scaffold in tissue engineering due to its excellent biocompatibility. However, PLGA scaffolds become structurally deformed during the sterilization process since they were hydrolytically unstable. In this study, the effects of hydrogen peroxide gas (HPG) were investigated on the deformation, sterilization and cytocompatibility of porous PLGA scaffolds and compared with those of ethylene oxide (EO) gas. Also, the effects of HPG treatment on the cellular responses of human articular chondrocytes were examined. HPG treatment resulted in neither deformation of PLGA nor its chemical modification, different from EO gas treatment. PLGA scaffolds inoculated with diverse strains of microorganisms were completely sterilized by HPG treatment. Moreover, the cytotoxicity of residual HPG occurring upon HPG treatment completely decreased as ventilation time increased. On the other hand, there was no significant difference in the proliferation and glycosaminoglycan synthesis of chondrocytes between EO gas-treated and HPG-treated PLGA scaffolds. These results suggest that HPG can be used as an alternative method for sterilizing various polymeric scaffolds and medical devices without structural deformation.