Evaluation of mechanical and morphologic features of PLLA membranes as supports for perfusion cells culture systems

• Design, development and characterization of porous biodegradable PLLA membranes via DIPS technology.
• Easy-to-tune processing parameters in terms of surface and volumetric properties and cell adhesion.
• Evaluation of the impact of the interconnection degree on membrane's mechanical properties.
• Evaluation of cell adhesion on different membrane surface textures.

Porous biodegradable PLLA membranes, which can be used as supports for perfusion cell culture systems were designed, developed and characterized. PLLA membranes were prepared via diffusion induced phase separation (DIPS). A glass slab was coated with a binary PLLA–dioxane solution (8 wt.% PLLA) via dip coating, then pool immersed in two subsequent coagulation baths, and finally dried in a humidity-controlled environment. Surface and mechanical properties were evaluated by measuring pore size, porosity via scanning electron microscopy, storage modulus, loss modulus and loss angle by using a dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). Cell adhesion assays on different membrane surfaces were also performed by using a standard count method. Results provide new insights into the foaming methods for producing polymeric membranes and supply indications on how to optimise the fabrication parameters to design membranes for tissue cultures and regeneration.

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