• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.45 no.10
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• pp.579-583
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• 2008

A porous $Al_2O_3$, scaffold coated with tricalcium phosphate(TCP) was fabricated by replica method using polyurethane(PU) foam as a fugitive material. Successive coatings of $Al_2O_3$ and hydroxyapatite(HAp) were applied via dip coating onto polyurethane foam, which has a slender and well interconnected network. A porous structure was obtained after sequentially burning out the foam and then sintering at $1500^{\circ}C$. The HAp phase was changed to TCP phase at high temperature. The scaffold showed excellent interconnected porosity with pore sizes ranging from $300{\sim}700{\mu}m$ in diameter. The inherent well interconnected structural feature of PU foam remained intact in the fabricated porous scaffold, where the PU foam material was entirely replaced by $Al_2O_3$ and TCP through a consecutive layering process. Thickness of the $Al_2O_3$ base and the TCP coating was about $7{\sim}10{\mu}m$ each. The TCP coating was homogeneously dispersed on the surface of the $Al_2O_3$ scaffold.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.675-681
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• 2010

It is well known that mesenchymal stem cell(MSCs) can be differentiated into fibroblasts, chondrocytes, and osteoblasts and that they develop into fibrous tissue, cartilage, or bone, as a result of mechanical stimulation. In this study, we developed a bioreactor system, which is composed of a reactor vessel that provides the required cell culture environment, an environment controlling chamber to control the media, a gas mixer, and a reactor motion control subsystem to apply mechanical stimuli to the cells. For the MSC culture, We used a poly-urethane (PU) scaffold, with a collagen coating to ensure improved cohesion ratio. Then, we transferred the cultivated MSCs in the PU scaffold, cultured the cells in the bioreactor system, and confirmed the proliferation, differentiation, and ossification processes, resulting from mechanical stimuli.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.20 no.8
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• pp.418-422
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• 2010

As a starting material, BCP (biphasic calcium phosphate) nano powder was synthesized by a hydrothermal microwave-assisted process. A highly porous BCP scaffold was fabricated by the sponge replica method using 60 ppi (pore per inch) of polyurethane sponge. The BCP scaffold had interconnected pores ranging from $100\;{\mu}m$ to $1000\;{\mu}m$, which were similar to natural cancellous bone. To realize the antibacterial property, a microwave-assisted nano Ag spot coating process was used. The morphology and distribution of nano Ag particles were different depending on the coating conditions, such as concentration of the $AgNO_3$ solution, microwave irradiation times, etc. With an increased microwave irradiation time, the amount of coated nano Ag particles increased. The surface of the BCP scaffold was totally covered with nano Ag particles homogeneously at 20 seconds of microwave irradiation time when 0.6 g of $AgNO_3$ was used. With an increased amount of $AgNO_3$ and irradiation time, the size of the coated particles increased. Antibacterial activities of the solution extracted from the Ag-coated BCP scaffold were examined against gram-negative (Escherichia coli) and gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus). When 0.6 g of $AgNO_3$ was used for coating the Ag-coated scaffold, it showed higher antibacterial activities than that of the Ag-coated scaffold using 0.8 g of $AgNO_3$.

• The Journal of Advanced Prosthodontics
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.285-294
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• 2014

PURPOSE. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the properties of a porous zirconia scaffold coated with bioactive materials and compare the in vitro cellular behavior of MC3T3-E1 preosteoblastic cells to titanium and zirconia disks and porous zirconia scaffolds. MATERIALS AND METHODS. Titanium and zirconia disks were prepared. A porous zirconia scaffold was fabricated with an open cell polyurethane disk foam template. The porous zirconia scaffolds were coated with ${\beta}$-TCP, HA and a compound of ${\beta}$-TCP and HA (BCP). The characteristics of the specimens were evaluated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive x-ray spectrometer (EDX), and x-ray diffractometry (XRD). The dissolution tests were analyzed by an inductively coupled plasma spectrometer (ICP). The osteogenic effect of MC3T3-E1 cells was assessed via cell counting and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). RESULTS. The EDX profiles showed the substrate of zirconia, which was surrounded by the Ca-P layer. In the dissolution test, dissolved $Ca^{2+}$ ions were observed in the following decreasing order; ${\beta}$-TCP > BCP > HA (P<.05). In the cellular experiments, the cell proliferation on titanium disks appeared significantly lower in comparison to the other groups after 5 days (P<.05). The zirconia scaffolds had greater values than the zirconia disks (P<.05). The mRNA level of osteocalcin was highest on the non-coated zirconia scaffolds after 7 days. CONCLUSION. Zirconia had greater osteoblast cell activity than titanium. The interconnecting pores of the zirconia scaffolds showed enhanced proliferation and cell differentiation. The activity of osteoblast was more affected by microstructure than by coating materials.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.224-228
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• 2006

The object of this study is to investigate the potential of dual-electrospun polymer based structure for vascular tissue engineering, especially for the medium or small sue blood vessels. Polyurethane(PU), which is known to be biocompatible in this area, was electrospun with poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO). Concentration of PU was fixed at 20wt%, while that of PEO was set from 15 to 35wt%. Morphological features were observed by SEM image and measurement of porosity and cellular responses were tested before and after extracting PEO from the hybrid scaffolds by immersing the scaffolds into distilled water. The diameter of PEO fibers were ranged from 200nm to 500nm. The lower concentration of PEO tended to show beads. The porosity of the scaffolds after extracting PEO was highly increased with higher concentration of PEO as expected. Also, higher proliferation rate of smooth muscle cells was observed at higher concentration of PEO than at the lower concentration and without PEO. As conclusions, this dual electrospinning technique combined with PU and PEO is expected to overcome the current barrier of cell penetration by providing more space for cells to proliferation.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.448-456
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• 2021

Background Locoregional stem cell delivery is very important for increasing the efficiency of cell therapy. Amnisite BA (Amnisite) is a freeze-dried amniotic membrane harvested from bovine placenta. The objective of this study was to investigate the retention of cells of the stromal vascular fraction (SVF) on Amnisite and to determine the effects of cell-loaded Amnisite in a porcine radiation-induced chronic wound model. Methods Initially, experiments were conducted to find the most suitable hydration and incubation conditions for the attachment of SVF cells extracted from pig fat to Amnisite. Before seeding, SVFs were labeled with PKH67. The SVF cell-loaded Amnisite (group S), Amnisite only (group A), and polyurethane foam (group C) were applied to treat radiation-induced chronic wounds in a porcine model. Biopsy was performed at 10, 14, and 21 days post-operation for histological analysis. Results Retaining the SVF on Amnisite required 30 minutes for hydration and 1 hour for incubation. A PKH67 fluorescence study showed that Amnisite successfully delivered the SVF to the wounds. In histological analysis, group S showed increased re-epithelialization and revascularization with decreased inflammation at 10 days post-operation. Conclusions SVFs had acceptable adherence on hydrated Amnisite, with successful cell delivery to a radiation-induced chronic wound model.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.38 no.5
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• pp.248-255
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• 2017

Polyurethane/polyethylene glycol(PU/PEG) hybrid scaffolds with various concentrations of PEG (0 to 50wt%) were prepared by electrospinning to evaluate the mechanical properties and the biocompatibility of the PU/PEG blend scaffolds. The 12wt% PU/PEG polymers were studied due to the absence of beads. The ultimate tensile strength of 12wt% PU was $8.2{\pm}0.5MPa$. The strength increased to $9.2{\pm}0.7MPa$ when 10% PEG was added to PU. However, the dry and the wet strength of PU/PEG scaffolds began to decrease dramatically when the PEG content was more than 10wt%. No cytotoxicity was observed for all the PU/PEG scaffolds investigated, indicating that the PU/PEG hybrid scaffolds are clinically safe and effective to small-diameter vascular grafts. In addition, the L-929 cells attached and proliferated well on the PU/PEG hybrid scaffolds.

• Advances in nano research
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.59-69
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• 2021

Electrospinning is a cost-effective and versatile method for producing submicron fibers. Although this method is relatively simple, at the theoretical level the interactions between process parameters and their influence on the fiber morphology are not yet fully understood. In this paper, the aim was finding optimal electrospinning parameters in order to obtain the smallest fiber diameter by using Taguchi's methodology. The nanofibers produced by electrospinning a solution of Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU) in Dimethylformamide (DMF). Polymer concentration and process parameters were considered as the effective factors. Taguchi's L9 orthogonal design (4 parameters, 3 levels) was applied to the experiential design. Optimal electrospinning conditions were determined using the signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio with Minitab 17 software. The morphology of the nanofibers was studied by a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). Thereafter, a tensile tester machine was used to assess mechanical properties of nanofibrous scaffolds. The analysis of DoE experiments showed that TPU concentration was the most significant parameter. An optimum combination to reach smallest diameters was yielded at 12 wt% polymer concentration, 16 kV of the supply voltage, 0.1 ml/h feed rate and 15 cm tip-to-distance. An empirical model was extracted and verified using confirmation test. The average diameter of nanofibers at the optimum conditions was in the range of 242.10 to 257.92 nm at a confidence level 95% which was in close agreement with the predicted value by the Taguchi technique. Also, the mechanical properties increased with decreasing fibers diameter. This study demonstrated Taguchi method was successfully applied to the optimization of electrospinning conditions for TPU nanofibers and the presented scaffold can mimic the structure of Extracellular Matrix (ECM).

• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.559-568
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• 1998

direct bone apposition during bone remodelling. To address these problem, we developed a new ceramic, calcium metaphosphate(CMP), and report herein the biologic response to CMP in subcutaneous tissue, muscle and bone. Porous CMP blocks were prepared by condensation of anhydrous $Ca(H_2PO_4)_2$ to form non-crystalline $Ca(PO_3)_2$. Macroporous scaffolds were made using a polyurethane sponge method. CMP block possesses a macroporous structure with approximate pore size range of 0.3-1mm. CMP blocks were implanted in 8mm sized calvarial defect, subcutaneous tissue and muscle of 6 Newzealand White rabbits and histologic observation were performed at 4 and 6 weeks later. CMP blocks in subcutaneous tissue and muscle were well adapted without any adverse tissue reaction and resorbed slowly and spontaneously. Histologic observation of calvarial defect at 4 and 6 weeks revealed that CMP matrix were mingled with and directly apposed to new bone without any intervention of fibrous connective tissue. CMP blocks didn't show any adverse tissue reaction and resorbed spontaneously also in calvarial defect. This result revealed that CMP had a high affinity for bone and was very biocompatible. From this preliminary result, it was suggested that CMP was a promising ceramic as a bone substitute and tissue engineering scaffold for bone formation.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.52-58
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• 2008

The object of this study is to investigate the effects of intermittent cyclic stretching on the smooth muscle cells (SMCs) seeded onto aligned multi-layered fibrous scaffold. To make multi-layered fibrous scaffold, polyurethane (PU) and poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) were electrospun alternatively, then were immersed into distilled water to extract PEO. Various types of scaffolds were fabricated depending on fiber directions, i.e., aligned or randomly oriented. The direction of stretching was either parallel or vertical to the fiber direction for the aligned scaffolds. The stretching was also applied to the randomly aligned scaffolds. The duration of stretching was 2 min with 15 min resting period. During the stretching, the maximum and minimum strain was adjusted to be 10 and 7%, respectively with the frequency of 1 Hz. The bioactivities of cells on the scaffolds were assessed by quantifying DNA, collagen, and glycosaminoglycan (GAG) levels. And the cell morphology was observed by staining F-actin. SMCs under parallel stretching to the fiber direction responded more positively than those in other conditions. From the results, we could explain the morphological effect of a substrate on cellular activities. In addition the synergistic effects of substrate and mechanical stimuli effects were confirmed.