Novel porous matrices made of a copolymer of glycolide (G) and epsilon-caprolactone (CL) (51 : 49, Mw 103000) was prepared for tissue engineering using a solvent-casting particulate leaching method. Poly(glycolide-co-epsilon-caprolactone) (PGCL) copolymer showed a rubber-like elastic characteristic, in addition to an amorphous property and fast biodegradability. In order to investigate the effect on the fibroblast culture, PGCL scaffolds of varying porosity and pore size, in addition to surface-hydrolysis or collagen coating, were studied. The large pore-sized scaffold (pore size >150 microm) demonstrated a much greater cell adhesion and proliferation than the small pore-sized one. In addition, the higher porosity, the better the cell adhesion and proliferation. The surface-hydrolyzed PGCL scaffold showed enhanced cell adhesion and proliferation compared with the unmodified one. Type I collagen coating revealed a more pronounced contribution for increased cell interactions than the surface-hydrolyzed one. These results demonstrate that surface-modified PGCL scaffold can provide a suitable substrate for fibroblast culture, especially in the case of soft tissue regenerations.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.