The treatment of irregular cranial bone defects is currently limited due to the graft resorption that can occur when an ill-fitting interface exists between an autograft and the surrounding tissue. A tissue engineering scaffold able to achieve defect-specific geometries could improve healing. This work reports a macroporous, shape memory polymer (SMP) scaffold composed of a semi-interpenetrating network (semi-IPN) of thermoplastic poly(l-lactic acid) (PLLA) within cross-linked poly(ε-caprolactone) diacrylate (PCL-DA) that is capable of conformal fit within a defect. The macroporous scaffolds were fabricated using a fused salt template and were also found to have superior, highly controlled properties needed for regeneration. Specifically, the scaffolds displayed interconnected pores, improved rigidity, and controlled, accelerated degradation. Although slow degradation rates of scaffolds can limit healing, the unique degradation behavior observed could prove promising. Thus, the described SMP semi-IPN scaffolds overcome two of the largest limitations in bone tissue engineering: defect “fit” and tailored degradation.

中文翻译：

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多孔聚（ε-己内酯）-聚（l-乳酸）半互穿网络是优越的，特定于缺陷的支架，具有修复颅骨缺损的潜力

由于当自体移植物和周围组织之间存在不合适的界面时可能发生的移植物吸收，目前限制了对不规则颅骨缺损的治疗。能够实现缺陷特定几何形状的组织工程支架可以改善愈合。这项工作报告了一个大孔的形状记忆聚合物（SMP）支架，该支架由热塑性聚（l）的半互穿网络（semi-IPN）组成。交联的聚（ε-己内酯）二丙烯酸酯（PCL-DA）中的聚（-乳酸）（PLLA），它能够在缺陷内共形拟合。大孔支架是使用熔融盐模板制造的，还发现其具有再生所需的优越的，高度受控的特性。特别地，支架显示出相互连接的孔，改善的刚性以及受控的，加速的降解。尽管缓慢的脚手架降解速度可能会限制愈合，但观察到的独特降解行为可能会很有希望。因此，所描述的SMP半IPN支架克服了骨组织工程学中的两个最大局限性：缺陷“适合”和定制的降解。