Fabrication and analysis of variable density poly-(L)-lactic acid fiber scaffolds

Poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA) is an extensively studied synthetic polymer that has demonstrated utility as a scaffolding material. A common technique for the fabrication of PLLA scaffolds is electrospinning. The purpose of the present material study was to assess whether an electrospinning process could produce consistent and uniform PLLA scaffold densities. An 8% PLLA solution was made using a 1:1 chloroform: dichloromethane solution and was then run through an electrospinning apparatus. Samples were spun onto 4% PLLA films for 2 or 20 min. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used for imaging the scaffolds. A nine measurement data set was used for the assessment of each scaffold density. Image analysis demonstrated that the electrospinning time and density of the scaffolds were directly related and produced fiber densities within a time dependent range of variation across the entire scaffold. Development of this process may improve current protocols for polymer fiber scaffold fabrication and produce superior scaffolds for both in vitro and in vivo applications.