Using a simple fluidic device fabricated with a PVC tube, a syringe needle, and a glass capillary tube, we have produced uniform microspheres from poly(e-caprolactone) (PCL) and gelatin based on O/W and W/O emulsions, respectively. Precise control over particle size could be achieved by varying the concentration and/or the flow rate for each phase, concentration of a discontinuous phase, and dimensions of the fluidic device. Cubic closed packed lattices of the uniform PCL and gelatin microspheres served as templates for developing the inverse opal structure of chitosan and poly(D,L-lactide-glyclide) (PLGA), respectively. The resulting scaffold exhibit uniform pore and well-interconnected pore structure in three-dimensional (3D) fashion. The pore size of the scaffold could be easily tuned by changing the diameter of microspheres. Confocal microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assays confirmed the penetration and proliferation of the cells throughout the 3D scaffolds. We believe that the inverse opal scaffolds could be potentially used for both in vitro and in vivo experiments related to 3D tissue engineering.

3D scaffold with inverse opal structure for tissue engineering

239th National Meeting (2010)

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