The use of the vibrating particle technique to fabricate highly porous and permeable biodegradable scaffolds

This study describes the degradation behavior of biodegradable scaffolds fabricated from a copolymer of polylactic acid and polyglycolic acid using a new technique that eliminates some of the problematic issues with the salt-leaching technique. Two variations of this technique were used and the in vitro degradation characteristics of the resulting scaffolds were compared. The properties monitored included mass, molecular weight, porosity, permeability, mechanical stiffness, and polydispersity. The results indicated that the vibrating particle technique, results in scaffolds that are at least 90% porous and highly permeable. During degradation the porosity of the scaffolds initially decreased up to two weeks and then inceased. On the other hand, their stiffness first increased followed by a decrease. It was also determined that the permeability of the scaffolds can vary considerably without significant changes in the porosity.