Effect of volume of porogens on the porosity of PLGA scaffolds in pH-controlled environment

Abstract

Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) is a well-studied biodegradable polymer used in drug delivery and other medical applications such as in tissue regeneration. It is often necessary to impart porosity within the scaffold (microparticles) in order to promote the growth of tissue during the regeneration process. Sodium chloride and ammonium bicarbonate have been extensively used as porogens in the generation of porous microstructure. In this study, we compared the effect of volumes (250 μl, 500 μl and 750 μl) of two porogens, sodium chloride (1.71 M) and ammonium bicarbonate (1.71 M), on the porosity of PLGA microparticles.

Keywords:

• Porosity
• PLGA
• scaffolds
• tissue regeneration and porogens

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the European Commission (as part of the 7th Framework Programme) for funding.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this article.

Additional information

Funding

The authors would like to thank the funding from 7th Framework Programme of EU [Grant agreement No. 262948].