Observation of discrepancy between the degradation of polymer scaffolds in vitro and in vivo according to high-resolution ultrasound technique

[Display omitted] •A new approach to high-resolution ultrasonic monitoring of polymer degradation in vivo.•Different degradation of the volume microstructure of PLGA under in vitro and in vivo.•An asynchrony in the changes of elasticity of PLGA during degradation in vitro and in vivo. Biocompatible, biodegradable polymers are actively used as drug delivery systems and as tissue engineering scaffolds. The hydrothermal aging of polymers, including degradation of the microstructure and changes of mechanical properties directly depends on environmental conditions. In vitro studies in a model media cannot contain and describe all the factors influencing the polymer degradation in a living organism. It seems promising to study the processes of changes in the microstructure and elastic properties of polymer implants invivo in dynamics. Here, we present data from the application of new experimental equipment for high-resolution ultrasound imaging of polymer degradation in vivo. Ultrasonic results include images of the transformation of volumetric microstructure and changes in elastic properties in dynamics. The method was verified on a rapidly degradable polymer poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide). We assess and compare the evolution of volume microstructure, elastic properties and molecular weight of the polymer weekly for 1.5 months of incubation in vitro and in vivo. We found that the in vivo degradation process occurs with a delay of 2 weeks compared to the hydrothermal aging invitro.