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Polymer Scaffold for Tissue Engineering Applications, 2nd Edition

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Biobased and Biodegradable Polymers".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2025 | Viewed by 592

Special Issue Editors

Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China
Interests: mechanical properties; self-healing; biodegradable implant; bone and bones; biomedical hydrogels
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Guest Editor
College of Bioresources Chemical and Materials Engineering, Shaanxi University of Science & Technology, Xi’an 710021, China
Interests: biomass-based hydrogels; shape memory hydrogels; tough hydrogels; structure of hydrogels; physically crosslinked hydrogels
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Polymeric scaffolds have received intense interest in recent years due to their tailorable structure, properties, and biological function for supporting tissue restoration. Scaffolds based on new synthetic strategies or polymers are being developed at a fast pace to fulfill the complex demands of broad medical scenarios. Much effort has been exerted in not only the fabrication of advanced scaffolds but also in studying fundamental issues such as cell–scaffold interaction, long-term biocompatibility and degradability evaluation, and the integration of biofunctions with other medical technologies. This Special Issue aims to collect and share cutting-edge research papers and reviews on the topic of “Polymer Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering Applications”, including: 

  • Biomimetic polymeric scaffolds for specific functions;
  • Conductive polymeric scaffolds and biosensors;
  • Fabrication and modification of polymeric scaffolds for directing cell behaviors;
  • Smart and environmental responsive polymeric scaffolds;
  • Polymeric scaffolds for controlled delivery of bioactive molecules;
  • Novel technologies, mechanisms, and applications of polymeric scaffolds in tissue engineering.

Dr. Ju Fang
Dr. Huijie Zhang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • tissue engineering
  • biomimetic scaffold
  • composite scaffold
  • biosensors
  • implants

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

21 pages, 4674 KiB  
Article
Segmented Polyurethanes Based on Adipate and Sebacate Biodegradable Polyesters for Use as Nerve Guide Conduits in Peripheral Nerve Regeneration
by Alexis B. Sabido-Barahona, Rossana F. Vargas-Coronado, Fernando Hernández-Sánchez, Antonio Martínez-Richa, José L. Gómez Ribelles, Juan V. Cauich-Rodríguez and Angel Marcos-Fernández
Polymers 2025, 17(12), 1692; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym17121692 - 18 Jun 2025
Viewed by 281
Abstract
This study investigated the chemical, thermal, and mechanical properties of segmented polyurethanes (SPUs) synthesized using less common biodegradable polyester polyols, specifically poly(adipate) (PAD) and poly(sebacate) (PSC), to evaluate their potential as nerve guidance conduits (NGCs) in peripheral nerve regeneration. The synthesis of novel [...] Read more.
This study investigated the chemical, thermal, and mechanical properties of segmented polyurethanes (SPUs) synthesized using less common biodegradable polyester polyols, specifically poly(adipate) (PAD) and poly(sebacate) (PSC), to evaluate their potential as nerve guidance conduits (NGCs) in peripheral nerve regeneration. The synthesis of novel 4,4′ methylene-bis-cyclohexyl diisocyanate (HMDI) SPUs was conducted in a two-step process: prepolymer formation and chain extension with 1,4-butanediol (BO) or 1,4-butanediamine (BA). SPUs were synthesized with two molar ratios—polyol:HMDI:BA/BO at 1:2:1 and 1:3:2 for the PAD:HMDI:BA system—to optimize mechanical properties. 1HRMN analysis verified the expected chemical structure of SPUs, whereas Raman and IR spectroscopy confirmed successful polyurethane synthesis. X-ray diffractograms showed that PAD-based SPUs (SPUPAD) were amorphous while PSC-based SPUs (SPUPSC) exhibited semi-crystalline behavior. SPUPAD showed only one degradation stage by TGA, while DSC showed one thermal event. In contrast, SPUPSC exhibited two degradation stages and three thermal events that confirmed phase separation. The longitudinal tensile properties of an NGC fabricated from SPUA-PAD-2 (PAD:HMDI:BA (1:3:2)) after 30 days of immersion in water (25 °C) showed a lower modulus (4.46 ± 0.5 MPa) than native intact nerves (15.87 ± 2.21 MPa) but a similar modulus to extracted nerves (8.19 ± 7.27 MPa). This system exhibited a longitudinal tensile force of 11.1 ± 1.6 N, which is lower than that of peripheral nerves (19.85 ± 7.21 N) but higher than that of commercial collagen-based nerve guide conduits (6.89 ± 2.6 N). The observed properties suggest that PUA-PAD-2 has potential as a biomaterial for nerve regeneration applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer Scaffold for Tissue Engineering Applications, 2nd Edition)
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