| 초록 |
It is well recognized that the porosity and pore size of the polymer scaffolds play important roles for tissue regeneration using different kinds of cells: optimal porosity and pore size conditions are different for different cells. So, if the tissue scaffold with gradient porosity or pore size (the scaffold with gradually increasing porosity or pore size along one direction) can be prepared, it will be of particular interest for basic studies of the interaction between tissue cells and scaffold with different porosity or pore size since the effect of porosity or pore size can be examined in a single experiment on one scaffold. In recent years, several techniques have been used to fabricate porous polymeric scaffolds having 3-dimensional pore structure. However, it is not possible from those techniques to fabricate scaffolds with porosity or pore size gradient. Recently, we firstly developed a scaffold fabrication method (centrifugation method) to prepare scaffolds with porosity or pore size gradient. In this study, we used alginate, which is a hydrophilic and tissue-compatible natural polymer, to fabricate cylindrical scaffolds with gradually increasing porosity or pore size along longitudinal direction by the centrifugation method. In this method, the pore size ranges of the scaffold could be controlled by adjusting centrifugation speeds. The prepared porosity gradient alginate scaffolds (cylinder form) were characterized for their porosity and pore size, mechanical strengths, model cell compatibility along the gradient.
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