@article {17905,
	title = {Elastic biodegradable starch/ethylene-co-vinyl alcohol fibre-mesh scaffolds for tissue engineering applications},
	journal = { Journal of Applied Polymer Science},
	volume = {131},
	year = {2014},
	month = {2014-02-11 00:00:00},
	publisher = {Wiley Periodicals, Inc.},
	abstract = {<p class="p1">The fabrication of a biomaterial scaffold, with adequate physical and structural properties for tissue engineering applica- tions, is reported. A blend of starch with ethylene-vinyl alcohol (50/50 w/w, SEVA-C) is used to produce 3D fibre-mesh scaffolds by wet-spinning. The scaffolds are characterized in terms of morphology, porosity, interconnectivity, and pore size, using scanning elec- tron microscopy (SEM) and microcomputed tomography ({\textmu}CT). The degradation behavior, as well as the mechanical properties of the scaffolds, is investigated in presence of alpha-amylase enzyme at physiological concentration. Scaffolds with porosities ranging from 43 to 52\%, interconnectivity of ≈70.5\% and pore size between 118 and 159 {\textmu}m, can be fabricated using the proposed methodology. The scaffolds exhibit an elastic behavior in the wet state with a compressive modulus of 7.96 {\textpm}\&nbsp;0.32 MPa. Degradation studies show that SEVA-C scaffolds are susceptible to enzymatic degradation by alpha-amylase, confirmed by the increase of weight loss (40\% of weight loss after 12 weeks) and presence of degradation products (reducing sugars) in solution. The diameter of SEVA-C scaffolds decreases with degradation time, increasing the overall porosity, interconnectivity and pore size. In vitro cell studies with human osteosarcoma cell line (SaOs-2) showed a nontoxic and cytocompatible behavior of the developed fibre mesh scaffolds. The positive cellular response, together with structural and degradable properties, suggests that 3D SEVA-C fibre-meshes may be good candidates as tissue engineering scaffolds.</p>},
	keywords = {Biodegradable, Biomaterials, elastomers, Mechanical Properties, porous materials},
	doi = {10.1002/app.40504},
	url = {http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/app.40504/abstract},
	author = {Susano, M. A. and Leonor, I. B. and Reis, R. L. and Azevedo, H. S.}
}
