Biological effect of gas plasma treatment on CO2 gas foaming/salt leaching fabricated porous polycaprolactone scaffolds in bone tissue engineering

Abstract

Porous polycaprolactone (PCL) scaffolds were fabricated by using the CO2 gas foaming/salt leaching process and then PCL scaffolds surface was treated by oxygen or nitrogen gas plasma in order to enhance the cell adhesion, spreading, and proliferation. The PCL and NaCl were mixed in the ratios of 3: 1. The supercritical CO2 gas foaming process was carried out by solubilizing CO2 within samples at 50°C and 8 MPa for 6 hr and depressurization rate was 0.4 MPa/s. The oxygen or nitrogen plasma treated porous PCL scaffolds were prepared at discharge power 100 W and 10 mTorr for 60 s. The mean pore size of porous PCL scaffolds showed 427.89 μm. The gas plasma treated porous PCL scaffolds surface showed hydrophilic property and the enhanced adhesion and proliferation of MC3T3-E1 cells comparing to untreated porous PCL scaffolds. The PCL scaffolds produced from the gas foaming/salt leaching and plasma surface treatment are suitable for potential applications in bone tissue engineering.