Abstract To investigate the influence of initial copolymer compositions of PLGA on mechanical property, degradation behavior and biological properties of the scaffolds. Porous PLGA scaffolds with different initial copolymer compositions were prepared by solvent casting/particulate leaching method. Biomechanical properties were measured using testing machine and degradation rate was detected by soaking the scaffolds in phosphate buffered solution at 37℃ for various time. Human dermal fibroblasts were seeded on PLGA scaffolds with different initial copolymer compositions and incubated for various time points. Cell adhesion efficacy, proliferation rate, and total collagen content were analyzed and cell morphology on the scaffolds was observed using scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that with the increase of PLA ratio, mechanical strength of the scaffolds increased, whilst the degradation rate decreased, but the changes were not lineal. PLGA 70:30 scaffolds got the highest mechanical strength, and there were no significant difference on the degradation rate between PLGA 70:30 and 80:20. PLGA scaffolds with different initial copolymer compositions had good cytocompatibility, showing high cell adhesion efficacy, fast proliferation rate and stretched cell morphology with no significant difference. A large amount of extracellular matrix was secreted and after 7 days of culture, cell nearly covered all the surface of the scaffolds. Based on these results, the study drew the conclusion that the copolymer compositions of PLGA affected the mechanical, degradation and biological properties of the scaffolds subtly but significantly. This would be helpful for choosing PLGA scaffold materials for constructing tissue.
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