Porous polymer scaffolds for tissue engineering
AssigneeRutgers, The State University
InventorsHoward B. Levene, Christelle M. Lhommeau, Joachim B Kohn
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Abstract
Biodegradable and biocompatible porous scaffolds characterized by a substantially continuous polymer phase, having a highly interconnected bimodal distribution of open pore sizes with rounded large pores of about 50 to about 500 microns in diameter and rounded small pores less than 20 microns in diameter, wherein the small pores are aligned in an orderly linear fashion within the walls of the large pores. Methods of preparing polymeric tissue scaffolds are also disclosed.
Claims12
A method for the preparation of biodegradable and biocompatible porous bimodal polymer scaffolds characterized by:
- dissolving from about 0.5 to about 25 weight % of a biocompatible polymer in a miscible solvent mixture of a first solvent in which said polymer is soluble and a second solvent in which said polymer is insoluble, wherein the ratio of said first solvent to said second solvent is in a range within which said polymer dissolves to form a homogenous solution, and the first solvent has a melting point between about -40 and about 20.degree. C.;
- placing said polymer solution into a form containing water-soluble non-toxic particles that are insoluble in organic solvents and have a diameter between about 50 and about 500 microns;
- quenching said solution at a rate effective to result in crystallization of said first solvent before the onset of liquid-liquid demixing of said first and second solvent;
- sublimating said polymer to remove said first and second solvents;
- leaching said polymer with a solvent in which said particles are soluble and said polymer is insoluble to remove said particles from said polymer;
- and
- drying said polymer.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.