Modelling and characterization of PLGA bioscaffolds for tissue engineering applications

The use of bioabsorbable bioscaffolds for tissue engineering is a promising treatment for patients who have damaged tissues. For this thesis, a study on poly(DL-lactide-co-glycolide) bioscaffolds fabricated using a gas foaming/salt leaching technique was performed. First, a parametric study showed that highly porous bioscaffolds were fabricated. The morphology was well-controlled by the salt particle and was found to vary with material composition. Second, for the degradation study, the initial pore size had little effect on degradation rate, which was mainly dependent on the medium, as the bioscaffolds degraded faster in the distilled water than in phosphate buffered saline. Third, a constitutive model was developed to predict the stress-strain behaviour of a scaffold under a compression loading condition and was verified by comparing it to empirical data. Finally, a finite element model was built to analyze the bioscaffold under compression, and this model was also verified using empirical data.