Effect of plasma treatment on scaffold by solid freeform fabrication

Scaffolds have been fabricated using conventional techniques such as salt leaching, fiber bonding, phase separation, and gas expansion. However, their interconnected networks for cell ingrowth is not sufficient. Therefore, scaffold design necessitates the application of novel fabrication. Three dimensional (3D) polycaprolactone (PCL) scaffolds were prepared by the plotting system using solid freeform fabrication (SFF) of the rapid prototyping (RP) technique. Also, plasma treatment on the scaffold surface was used to increase the hydrophilicity for the enhancement of the initial cellular adhesion. Helium atmospheric pressure glow discharge (He-APGD) treatment was employed for the scaffold surface modification. The hydrophilized surface after He-APGD treatment could be wetted with culture media well. The scaffolds were supposed to enhance cell attachment. Morphology change and wettability was observed with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and contact angle measurement system, respectively. Biological responses of osteoblast like cells (MG63) were evaluated with WST-1 and ALP activity assays. Cell morphology on the scaffold were observed using SEM and fluorescent microscopy. In this study, the He-APGD treated 3D PCL scaffolds showed good cellular responses and potential of this modified scaffolds for tissue engineering.