Magnetically-guided assembly of magnetic sugar particles for biodegradable scaffolds

Recent advances to develop scaffolds with controlled pore layout and porosity have great significance in tissue engineering for providing optimal cultivation conditions. Porogen leaching has been commonly used to control pore size, pore structure and porosity in the scaffold fabrication. This paper reports a magnetic steering method for controlling magnetic sugar particles as porogens in fabrication of sheet-like scaffold. A patterning device is utilized to align particles on desired positions and magnetic PVA is introduced to improve the layout of pores. After Poly(L-lactide-co-ε-caprolactone) (PLCL) casting and removal of the sugar template, spherical pores are generated inside scaffold. The surface and inner morphologies of the scaffolds are evaluated with the aid of optical microscope and scanning electron microscope, respectively. The results show controllable diameters with ranges of 150μm to 200μm and appropriate interconnection of pores, elegant pore wall morphology and high porosity are achieved in small-size scaffolds with the size of 8mm in width and 10mm in length.