Collagen/polyester-polyurethane porous scaffolds for use in meniscal repair.

Focusing on the regeneration of damaged knee meniscus, we propose a hybrid scaffold made of poly(ester-urethane) (PEU) and collagen that combines suitable mechanical properties with enhanced biological integration. To ensure biocompatibility and degradability, the degradable PEU was prepared from a poly(ε-caprolactone), L-lysine diisocyanate prepolymer (PCL di-NCO) and poly(lactic--glycolic acid) diol (PLGA). The resulting PEU ( = 52 000 g mol) was used to prepare porous scaffolds using the solvent casting (SC)/particle leaching (PL) method at an optimized salt/PEU weight ratio of 5 : 1.

Evaluation of Porous (Poly(lactide--glycolide)--(ε-caprolactone)) Polyurethane for Use in Orthopedic Scaffolds.

To develop an orthopedic scaffold that could overcome the limitations of implants used in clinics, we designed poly(ester-urethane) foams and compared their properties with those of a commercial gold standard. A degradable poly(ester-urethane) was synthetized by polyaddition between a diisocyanate poly(ε-caprolactone) prepolymer (PCL di-NCO, = 2400 g·mol) and poly(lactic--glycolic acid) diol (PLGA, = 2200 g·mol) acting as a chain extender. The resulting high-molecular-weight poly(ester-urethane) (PEU, = 87,000 g·mol) was obtained and thoroughly characterized by NMR, FTIR and SEC-MALS.