Uniform beads with controllable pore sizes for biomedical applications

Abstract

Uniform beads of poly(D,L-lactide-co- glycolide) with small or large pores are fabricated by selectively introducing phase-separated layers of an unstable emulsion into a fluidic device using a syringe with a tip offset from the barrel. When fibroblasts are cultured in the beads, a higher density of viable cells occurs in the beads with larger pores. These beads could be useful for tissue engineering and cell-delivery applications.