POLYMERIC SCAFFOLDS FOR TISSUE ENGINEERING APPLICATIONS

Abstract

Polymeric materials are commonly used for many purposes in Tissue Engineering Applications. In particular, they are used as scaffolds which are specially prepared in cell growth studies as well as drug loading and release systems. In drug delivery and controlled release systems functional, scaffolds are widely used in order to send the drug to its target region. On the other hand, in cell growth systems patterned polymeric scaffolds are prepared and used to allow the cells to grow at a certain region with a particular form. For this purpose, different techniques are used for the adhesion of cells onto the material surfaces. In this study, patterned scaffolds from various polymers as Polymethylacrylate (PAM), Polystyrene (PS) and polyvinylchloride (PVC) were prepared using micro contact printing with the soft Lithographic Technique. The prepared materials were morphologically analyzed and cell growth was followed by using electron scanning microscope (SEM). Poly (dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) molds were prepared in different shapes and used as stamp materials to transfer the designed patterns. The cell growth on these patterned surfaces was followed after seeding L929 mouse fibroblasts cells. Neutral Red Uptake Assay was applied to observe cell growth. The cell growth experiments showed that the cells were attached to the patterned surfaces and a significant increase in cell growth on the surfaces were observed.