Affiliations: [a] Advanced Medical Devices and Composites Laboratory, Department of Fiber and Composite Materials, Feng Chia University. Taichung 407, Taiwan | [b] Dental Medical Devices and Materials Research Center, College of Dental Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan | [c] Department of Orthopaedics, Kaohsiung Municipal Siaogang Hospital, Kaohsiung 80708, Taiwan | [d] Department of Orthopaedics, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 80708, Taiwan
Correspondence:
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Corresponding author: Wen-Cheng Chen, Advanced Medical Devices and Composites Laboratory, Chairman, Department of Fiber and Composite Materials, Feng Chia University, 100, Wenhwa Rd., Seatwen, Taichung 40724, Taiwan (ROC). Tel.: +886-4-24517250 ext 3413; Fax: +886-4-24514625; E-mails: wencchen@fcu.edu.tw, wincheng0925@yahoo.com.tw.
Note: [*] Equal contribution to 1st author.
Abstract: Background:A biodegradable porous particle for the controlled biofactor delivery which assembly of pores in scaffolds can improve the permeation and diffusion of drugs or growth factors. Objective:Porous-spheres in millimeter scale were prepared by mixing sodium alginate and gelatin interpenetrating networks with cross-linkers; interconnected open pores were fabricated through solvent casting and particulate leaching. Methods:Morphological characteristics, degradation, and bovine serum albumin (BSA) release rates of the porous-spheres immersed in three different solutions, namely, deionized distilled water, simulated body fluid (SBF), and phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), were detected. Results:Porous-spheres with a large amount of gelatin exhibited an increase in water absorption rates without affecting scaffold strength and no cytotoxicity was elicited. Highly interconnected pores with a diameter of 100–200 µm were uniformly distributed in scaffolds. The weight loss in PBS was faster than that in other solutions; the highest release rate of BSA in SBF was observed for 2 h. The release rates also exhibited linear patterns from 2 h to 24 h in all of the groups. Conclusions:After 1 d of immersion in solutions, BSA release rates in scaffolds logarithmically decreased for 14 d. The degradation of porous-spheres also showed an inverse pattern.
