Fabrication of Nanostructured PLGA Scaffolds Using Anodic Aluminum Oxide Templates

TL;DR

This paper presents a novel, simple physical method using anodic aluminum oxide templates to fabricate nanostructured PLGA membranes, significantly enhancing cell growth without altering material properties.

Contribution

It introduces a new fabrication technique for nanostructured PLGA using AAO templates and vacuum air-extraction, improving control and biocompatibility over traditional methods.

Findings

Nanostructured PLGA doubles bovine endothelial cell growth rate.

The method is simpler and preserves PLGA characteristics.

Nanostructure control is achieved via AAO template parameters.

Abstract

PLGA (poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid)) is one of the most used biodegradable and biocompatible materials. Nanostructured PLGA even has great application potentials in tissue engineering. In this research, a fabrication technique for nanostructured PLGA membrane was investigated and developed. In this novel fabrication approach, an anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) film was use as the template ; the PLGA solution was then cast on it ; the vacuum air-extraction process was applied to transfer the nano porous pattern from the AAO membrane to the PLGA membrane and form nanostures on it. The cell culture experiments of the bovine endothelial cells demonstrated that the nanostructured PLGA membrane can double the cell growing rate. Compared to the conventional chemical-etching process, the physical fabrication method proposed in this research not only is simpler but also does not alter the characteristics of the PLGA. The nanostructure of the PLGA membrane can be well controlled by the AAO temperate.