Fabrication of Sintered Porous Poly(L-lactide) Scaffold with Controlled Pore Size and Porosity

The aim of this study was to control the pore sizes, porosities, and mechanical properties of three-dimensional scaffolds by varying the particle sizes, sintering temperature, and sintering time. The surface and inner morphologies of the scaffolds were evaluated using a scanning electron microscope and an X-ray microfocus CT, respectively. Furthermore, the mechanical properties of the scaffold were discussed. The sintered scaffolds had a total porosity between 15% and 54% with a median pore size in the range of 65-340 mu m. By varying the particle sizes andthe sintering temperature at a constant sintering time (15 min), the flexural strength and flexural modulus changed from 9.09 +/- 1.33 MPa to 44.64 +/- 3.31 MPa and from 0.51 +/- 0.04 GPa to 1.11 +/- 0.09 GPa, respectively. These results indicate that the sintered scaffolds are suitable for bone tissue engineering as load-bearing scaffolds. (C) 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 117: 1566-1571, 2010