A Comparative Study of Preparation of Porous Poly‐ L ‐lactide Scaffolds Using NaHCO3 and NaCl as Porogen Materials

Poly‐l‐lactide (PLLA) scaffold materials were fabricated by using NaCO3 and NaCl as porogens, and the influences of porogen on the properties of the scaffold were investigated. The scaffold fabricated with NaHCO3 as porogen is more highly porous and has more macropores than that fabricated with NaCl. As a porogen, NaHCO3 particulate is easier to leach out than NaCl, due to quickly reacting with HCl solution and producing CO2. Distilled water soaking treatment has little effect on the viscosity average molecular mass of PLLA; however, HCl solution treatment decreases the viscosity average molecular mass of PLLA. The PLLA scaffold fabricated with NaHCO3 has a lower compressive strength than that fabricated with NaCl.