Application of Microbial Copolyesters in Tissue Engineering

Tissue engineering is an interdisciplinary field that merges together, the principles of life sciences, material sciences, engineering and surgery to develop biological substitutes that restore, maintain or improve the function of biological tissues and organs. One of the most sought after aspect of this tissue engineering, pertaining to material science, is the design of polymer scaffolds. The traditional polymer scaffolds are primarily made out of PE and PP. These scaffolds are permanent and should they be removed, the patient must undergo a second surgery. Also, these scaffoldings often drop from their original position, causing injury to nearby tissues and organs. Thus the focus, today, is slowly shifting towards the bioresorbable scaffolds which get absorbed by the body. Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), obtained from bacterial sources, belongs to one such class of polymers with an immense potential as scaffolds. In this paper 10-poly (3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) was assessed for its application as a scaffold. 10-PHBV scaffolds, prepared by Emulsion Freezing Technique, were subjected to Tensile, In-vitro degradation, Weight loss and SEM tests under ASTM standards. Mechanical Properties, Retention and Weight Loss characteristics were then observed. The results indicate that this copolymer is to play a prospective role in the construction of bioresorbable polymer scaffolds.