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영어

Using a simple fluidic device fabricated with a PVC tube, a syringe needle, and a glass capillary tube, we produced uniform microspheres from poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL), ethyle-2-cyanoacrylate (ECA), and gelatin. Precise control over spheresize could be achieved by varying the concentration of the discontinuous phase, the flow rates for each phase, and/or dimensions of the fluidic device. We developed inverse opal scaffolds from chitosan and poly(D,L-lactide-co-glyclide) (PLGA) by using PCL and gelatin lattices as templates, respectively. The scaffolds exhibited uniform pore size and well-interconnected pore structure in three-dimensional (3D) fashion. We believe that the inverse opal scaffold could provide a promising platform for both in vitro and in vivo experiments related to 3D tissue engineering. We subcutaneously implanted four kinds of inverse opal scaffolds with different pore sizes into miceto evaluate the effect of pore size on degree of neovascularization. Histology analysis confirmed that the density and area ratio of blood vessels were directly governed by the morphology of the scaffolds. Beside the inverse opal scaffolds, uniform PLGA microbeads with a hollow interior and porous wall were prepared using a fluidic device with three-way channels. The microstructured microbeads could be potentially useful for the encapsulation of cells as well as active agents. We also successfully prepared uniform, porous PLGA beads with controllable pore sizes by employing unstable water-in-oil emulsion as the discontinuous phase, which can be useful for therapeutic cell delivery and tissue engineering. We believe that the advanced materials, including uniform microspheres, inverse opal scaffolds, uniform beads with a core and porous wall, and uniform porous beads, can be applied to most of strategies in biomedical engineering, eventually resolving significant problems that we currently encounter.