Investigation on biodegradable PLGA scaffold with various pore size structure for skin tissue engineering

For tissue regeneration, highly open porous polymer matrices are required for high-density cell seeding, as well as sufficient nutrient and oxygen supply to the cells in the 3-D matrices. In this study, three types of scaffolds containing three different pore sizes (uniform-pore size, 2-layer pore size and multi-pore size) were prepared. We used human dermal fibroblast cells to investigate cell attachment and proliferation with the prepared specimens. Not only DNA quantity measurement of the cells but also the number of cells within the cross-sectional area of the scaffold was investigated. In the DNA quantity test, the multi-pore size scaffold contained a 1.77 times larger amount than the uniform-pore size scaffold for 14 days culture. For the cell-counting assessment, the multi-pore size scaffold contained about 2.24 times more cells than the uniform-pore size scaffold in the middle sectioned area for 14 days. To prevent the generation of a polymer skin layer on the surface of the scaffolds, PLGA scaffolds were fabricated by a two-step molding method. No skin layer was observed in the scaffold. Various pore size specimens tended to degrade more and faster than uniform-pore size specimens in PBS solution. Chemical treatment on the surface of the specimen enhances cytocompatibility of the scaffold.