Tomlins, P E (2008) Influence of porous structure: tissue engineering scaffolds. In: Degradation Rate of Bioresorbable Materials. Woodhead Publishing Ltd. ISBN 9781845693299

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Abstract

Assessing the impact that tissue scaffold structures have on the degradation behaviour of polymers is not an easy task given the number of variables e.g.
· Pore size and interconnectivity
· Sample geometry
· Proportion of different pore types - open, closed or blind-end
· Storage conditions
· Starting molecular weight of the material
· Material type
· The processing conditions used to manufacture the scaffold
· The metrics used to assess degradation.

The balance between `internal' degradation and surface erosion is determined by the active degradation mechanisms i.e. hydrolyis, particularly autocatalytic reactions and surface-active enzyme activity.

Characterisation of the initial structure and sample storage conditions play an important role in influencing degradation kinetics but are typically overlooked in many studies. This is particularly true for characterisation as there are no robust protocols and/or methods for analysing porous materials over a lengthscale that rages from nanometre to sub-millimetre. For commonly used polyesters the fastest rate of degradation occurs in low porosity materials due to autocatalysis or those that contain high levels of lactide.

Item Type:	Book Chapter/Section
Keywords:	tissue scaffold, degradation, polymers
Subjects:	Advanced Materials Advanced Materials > Biomaterials
Publisher:	Woodhead Publishing Ltd
Last Modified:	02 Feb 2018 13:15
URI:	http://eprintspublications.npl.co.uk/id/eprint/4550

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