Porous polymer scaffolds play a crucial role in tissue engineering (TE) by favoring cell growth and restoration of tissue and organ function.[1] Key features of these scaffolds are biocompatibility, adjustable degradability, mechanical properties comparable to the native tissues, and controlled porosity to promote implant colonization, nutrient supply and waste elimination.[2] In this respect, polyphosphoesters (PPEs) appear as valuable candidates for TE applications, given their biocompatibility and tunability of their hydrophilicity and hydrolytic degradation through modification of their pendant groups.[3] This communication aims to report on the development of innovative degradable PPE-based porous scaffolds structured by high internal phase emulsion (HIPE) templating polymerization. For this purpose, novel degradable PPE-based surfactants were synthesized by sequential Ring Opening Polymerization (ROP) of cyclic phosphates and tested as alternative to the classical non-degradable surfactants for the stabilization of the HIPEs. Surface tension measurements confirmed the surface-active properties of these macromolecular surfactants, which were subsequently used to formulate a series of open-cell macroporous PPE-based scaffolds also called polyHIPEs. The impact of the structure and concentration of the surfactants on the morphological characteristics, mechanical properties, and degradability of these scaffolds will be discussed. Ultimately, adequate interconnected porous morphologies and degradability were achieved along with mechanical properties tailored for soft tissue engineering applications.
[1] Flores-Jiménez, M. S.; Garcia-Gonzalez, A.; Fuentes-Aguilar, R. Q. Review on Porous Scaffolds Generation Process: A Tissue Engineering Approach. ACS Appl. Bio Mater. 2023, 6 (1), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsabm.2c00740.
[2] Yadav, P.; Beniwal, G.; Saxena, K. K. A Review on Pore and Porosity in Tissue Engineering. Mater. Today Proc. 2021, 44, 2623–2628. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2020.12.661.
[3] Rheinberger, T.; Rabaux, O.; Jérôme, C.; Wurm, F. R. The Future of Polyphosphoesters. Eur. Polym. J. 2023, 200 (September). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2023.112464.