Mechanically Enhanced Precipitation of Phase-Inversion Sprayed Polyurethane Scaffold May Be Used to Match Tissue Specific Anisotropy

Methods of creating a scaffold for tissue engineering that allow for modification of properties such as pore size, porosity, and anisotropy are essential for tissue engineering applications. For example the pore size and material anisotropy have been shown to affect cardiomyocyte elongation and alignment [1]. Phase-inversion spray polymerization (PISP) is a method for rapidly precipitating polymers onto a surface by depositing the polymer solution simultaneously with a nonsolvent, and may be used to create biocompatible scaffolds of engineered morphological and mechanical properties by varying the solubility of the polymer in the nonsolvent [2]. We report here on the fabrication of scaffolds using different nonsolvents and methods of in-process elongation that allow for control of stiffness, anisotropy ratio, porosity, and in vitro cell culture.