Preparation of macroporous biodegradable PLGA scaffolds for cell attachment with the use of mixed salts as porogen additives

In the present study, a mixture of ammonium‐bicarbonate (NH4HCO3) and sodium‐chloride (NaCl) particles was used as a porogen additive to fabricate highly macroporous biodegradable poly(lactic‐co‐glycolic acid) (PLGA) scaffolds. A two‐step salt‐leaching process was performed after the sample had become semisolidified. Compared to the standard solvent‐casting/particulate‐leaching (SC/PL) technique, the processing time of this approach was significantly shorter: Instead of several days, only half a day was required. In addition, the polymer/salts/solvent mixture can be easily handled and molded into scaffolds of any specific shape—for example, thin sheet, cylindrical, or bone‐shaped—for special applications in tissue engineering. Our results demonstrate that these scaffolds have a highly interconnected open‐pore structure as well as greater mechanical properties than those made using the standard SC/PL technique. Primary rat osteoblasts seeded into the scaffolds exhibited good seeding efficiency. The method presented here is a promising approach for fabricating scaffolds for tissue engineering applications. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res (Appl Biomater) 62:271–279, 2002