Biodegradable poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) has been increasingly investigated as a promising scaffolding material for articular cartilage tissue repair. However, its use can be limited due to its surface hydrophobicity and topography. In this study, 3D porous PCL scaffolds fabricated by a fused deposition modeling (FDM) machine were enzymatically hydrolyzed using two different biocatalysts, namely Novozyme®435 and Amano lipase PS, at varied treatment conditions in a pH 8.0 phosphate buffer solution. The improved surface topography and chemistry of the PCL scaffolds were anticipated to ultimately boost the growth of porcine articular chondrocytes and promote the chondrogenic phenotype during cell culture. Alterations in surface roughness, wettability, and chemistry of the PCL scaffolds after enzymatic treatment were thoroughly investigated using several techniques, e.g., SEM, AFM, contact angle and surface energy measurement, and XPS. With increasing enzyme content, incubation time, and incubation temperature, the surfaces of the PCL scaffolds became rougher and more hydrophilic. In addition, Novozyme®435 was found to have a higher enzyme activity than Amano lipase PS when both were used in the same enzymatic treatment condition. Interestingly, the enzymatic degradation process rarely induced the deterioration of compressive strength of the bulk porous PCL material and slightly reduced the molecular weight of the material at the filament surface. After 28 days of culture, both porous PCL scaffolds catalyzed by Novozyme®435 and Amano lipase PS could facilitate the chondrocytes to not only proliferate properly, but also function more effectively, compared with the non-modified porous PCL scaffold. Furthermore, the enzymatic treatments with 50 mg of Novozyme®435 at 25 °C from 10 min to 60 min were evidently proven to provide the optimally enhanced surface roughness and hydrophilicity most significantly favorable for induction of chondrogenic phenotype, indicated by the greatest expression level of cartilage-specific gene and the largest production of total glycosaminoglycans.

中文翻译：

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生物酶催化的聚（ε-己内酯）支架的软骨形成表型：表面形貌和化学的影响。

可生物降解的聚（ε-己内酯）（PCL）已被越来越多地研究为一种有前景的关节软骨组织修复支架材料。但是，由于其表面疏水性和形貌，其使用可能受到限制。在这项研究中，使用两种不同的生物催化剂，即Novozyme®435和Amano脂肪酶PS，在pH 8.0磷酸盐缓冲溶液中的不同处理条件下，将通过熔融沉积建模（FDM）机制造的3D多孔PCL支架进行了酶水解。预期PCL支架表面形态和化学性质的改善将最终促进猪关节软骨细胞的生长并促进细胞培养过程中的软骨形成表型。表面粗糙度，润湿性的变化，使用数种技术（例如SEM，AFM，接触角和表面能测量以及XPS）彻底研究了酶处理后PCL支架的化学性质和化学性质。随着酶含量，孵育时间和孵育温度的增加，PCL支架的表面变得更粗糙，更亲水。此外，发现当在相同的酶处理条件下使用时，Novozyme®435的酶活性高于天野脂酶PS。有趣的是，酶促降解过程很少引起块状多孔PCL材料的抗压强度下降，并且在长丝表面稍微降低了该材料的分子量。经过28天的培养，与未修饰的多孔PCL支架相比，由Novozyme®435催化的多孔PCL支架和Amano脂肪酶PS均可促进软骨细胞不仅正常增殖，而且更有效地发挥作用。此外，在25°C下用50 mg的Novozyme®435酶处理10分钟到60分钟的酶处理过程已被证明可提供最佳的表面粗糙度和亲水性，最有利于诱导软骨形成表型，其最大表达水平可知。软骨特异性基因和总糖胺聚糖产量最大。