Influence of mechanical loads on degradation of scaffolds

The degradation dynamics of biodegradable scaffolds is critical to the cell-scaffold constructs for tissue engineering and the implants for use in regenerative medicine. The degradation and absorption of the scaffolds are usually controlled by various factors, such as the properties of materials or the circumstance where the scaffolds locate. The scaffolds are not only in biochemical environment, but also under mechanical environment either in bioreactor or in vivo. It is well known that the degradation of the scaffolds will be affected by the biochemical environment, temperature etc, whereas the influence of the stress on the degradation of the scaffolds was always ignored. This work studied the influence of the different mechanical loads on the degradation dynamics of the scaffolds, such as poly(Llactide- co-glycolide), poly(D,L-lactic acid), poly(L-lactic acid), poly(L-lactide-co-glycolide)/β- tricalcium phosphate, chitosan/gelatin. Results in this paper would provide fundamental experimental references for the degradation behavior of biodegradable materials used in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.