May 14, 2004Biomacromolecules
Morphology of Elastic Poly(l-lactide-co-ε-caprolactone) Copolymers and in Vitro and in Vivo Degradation Behavior of Their Scaffolds
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Discussion
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Implication
In vivo and in vitro comparative study reveals accelerated degradation of elastic PLCL scaffolds in mice compared to buffer, suggesting enzymatic activity influences copolymer resorption.
Key Points
- To synthesize elastic poly(L-lactide-co-ε-caprolactone) scaffolds and characterize their phase morphology alongside comparative in vitro and in vivo degradation kinetics for tissue engineering applications.
- Synthesized 50:50 PLCL copolymers and fabricated tubular scaffolds with 90% porosity and 150 ± 50 μm pore size, analyzing microdomains and transitions via DMTA, DSC, SAXS, and TEM.
- Implanted smooth muscle cell–seeded scaffolds subcutaneously into nude mice for up to 15 weeks to evaluate in vivo degradation against in vitro degradation in phosphate buffer solution (pH 7.4) for up to 1 year.
- SAXS and TEM revealed ~17 nm hard L-lactide domains dispersed within a soft ε-caprolactone matrix, yielding two glass transition temperatures and rubber-like elasticity via physical cross-linking.
- Scaffolds degraded slowly in both conditions, but the rate of mass loss was faster in vivo than in vitro, indicating that endogenous enzymes accelerate breakdown in living tissue.
- Amorphous ε-caprolactone units degraded faster than the more hydrophobic L-lactide units in both settings, with preferential breakdown intensified in vivo due to preferential water penetration into amorphous domains.
Cite This Study
Jeong et al. (2004) studied this question.