In vitro degradation properties of ion-beam irradiated poly(lactide-co-glycolic acid) mesh

Scaffolds for tissue regeneration must be biocompatible and biodegradable. Ion-beam irradiation is useful for making polymers biocompatible, but the process by which the irradiated polymers biodegradable is not yet well understood. We investigated this phenomenon by Kr(+)-irradiated poly(lactide-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) mesh substrate at an acceleration energy of 50 key with fluences of 1 x 10(13) and 1 x 10(14) ions/cm(2). We then measured the electronic states of the constituent elements on the irradiated surface by X-ray photoelectron microscopy (XPS) and evaluated the hydrolytic degradation properties (weight loss, media pH, and tensile strength) of the mesh in phosphate buffer solution. New functional groups and carbonization were induced on the irradiated surface. Degradation rate and tensile strength remain unchanged by ion-beam irradiation. Ion-beam irradiation should, thus, be a promising modification technique for tissue engineering scaffolds. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.