Science and Technology Production
XIV Jornadas de Ingeniería Clínica y la III Conferencia Latinoamericana de Ingeniería Clínica (CLIC) - Characterization of Collagen and Hyaluronic Acid Scaffolds: Evaluation of Porosity Techniques
Congress
Authorship:
Fernández, Pablo Andrés ; Comín, Romina ; Spahn, Baltazar ; Salvatierra, Nancy Alicia ; CID, MARIANA PAULADate:
2025Publishing House and Editing Place:
XIV Jornadas de Ingeniería Clínica y la III Conferencia Latinoamericana de Ingeniería Clínica (CLIC)Summary *
This study comprehensively characterizes 3D-printed collagen and hyaluronic acid (HA) scaffolds using multiple porosity analysis techniques to evaluate their potential for soft tissue regeneration. Nitrogen sorption revealed a low specific surface area (2 m²/g) and meso/macroporous structure, while dynamic vapor sorption (DVS) demonstrated exceptional hydration capacity(Vm=61.38 cm³/g) and high surface area (173 m²/g). Mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) showed 67.9% porosity with interconnected pores, although it might cause potential material compression at high pressures. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) image processing indicated 55.6% porosity but the samples might have suffered from dehydration artifacts. On the other hand, ethanol displacement yielded 95.5% porosity by accessing closed pores. The significant variability among techniques (55.6-95.5%) underscores the necessity for multimodal characterization: MIP for interconnectivity, DVS for hydration properties, SEM for morphology, and ethanol displacement for total porosity assessment. These results demonstrate that collagen-HA scaffolds possess optimal structural and physicochemical properties for tissue engineering applications, though technique selection must consider the imitations of each method. The study highlights theimportance of complementary characterization approaches for accurate biomaterial evaluation. Information provided by the agent in SIGEVAKey Words
POROSITY CHARACTERIZATIONTISSUE ENGINEERING3D PRINTINGSCAFFOLDS