Fabrication of poly(lactic acid) scaffolds by a modified solvent casting/porogen leaching method

A modified solvent casting/particulate leaching (SC/PL) method was developed to fabricate thick three-dimensional poly(lactic acid) (PLA) scaffolds with controlled pore size and porosity, and much shorter processing time. The pasty mixture of PLA/CHCl3/NaCl was sealed in a Buchner funnel by a piston with a suction flask connected. A vacuum pump was used to facilitate the volatilization of solvent. The scaffolds were obtained by subsequent removal of NaCl in deionized water. The pore size within the scaffold was in good accordance with the particle size of NaCl (< 210, 210~310, 310~420 and 420~500 μm), all of which had more than 89 % of porosity, 1.95 ± 0.2 MPa of compressive modulus and non-cytotoxic to L929 cells. To demonstrate the applicability of the SC/VV/PL method, thick cylindrical and tubular porous scaffolds have been produced in this study. Compared with the traditional SC/PL without vacuum volatilization, the modified method, namely, solvent casting/vacuum volatilization/particulate leaching (SC/VV/PL) method, provide a more efficient way to fabricate thick scaffolds.