Development of immunomodulatory scaffolds for tissue regeneration

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Our poly(lactic acid/caprolactone) copolymer (PLCL) technology was used to fabricate porous scaffolds of different sizes, from 200 um to 2.5 mm thickness. This achievement means that PLCL scaffolds can be adapted to numerous applications in tissue regeneration, and are not limited to bone regeneration as initially hypothesized in our proposal. Gas plasma treatment of PLCL scaffolds was performed, and new functional groups were detected by FTIR-spectroscopy. However, field emission SEM revealed different degrees of structural damage. Macrophages cultured on PLCL scaffolds showed a proliferation rate comparable to that of control materials; however, signs of scaffold degradation were observed by SEM, indicating that macrophages were engaged in the breakdown and phagocytosis of PLCL scaffold.