Estruturas tridimensionais porosas de policaprolactona/mel produzidas a partir do sistema BioExtruder .

Abstract

The field of tissue engineering encompasses the use of three-dimensional structures able to simulate the ideal environment for accommodating, fixing, proliferation, differentiation and cell orientation, to enable the growth and regeneration, in an organized manner, of the new tissue. The Bioextruder system, relates low cost and high reproducibility, and is capable of controlling the porosity of the structures, this additive manufacturing technique has been commonly used to produce such three dimensional structures. Thus, biodegradable biomaterials are the most efficient alternatives for the development of these materials, such as polycaprolactone, a synthetic polymer which has been widely used in tissue engineering. Honey has physicochemical properties that directly contribute to its antibacterial, antibiotic, antiinflammatory and healing activities. Therefore, this study aimed to produce threedimensional structures of Polycaprolactone and Polycaprolactone/Honey by means of the Bioextruder system, assessing the influence of honey in the polymer matrix. The obtained structures were characterized by the following techniques: Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Thermogravimetry (TG), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Porosity, Compression Strength, Cytotoxicity and Cell Adhesion. Morphological analysis by SEM showed structures with defined and interconnected pore sizes, and a regular internal geometry, with porosity around 54%. By the FTIR results it was possible to identify the characteristic absorption bands of each material, indicating that the technique used for obtaining the three-dimensional structures did not cause chemical changes in the material after processing. TG and DSC techniques showed that the structures presented a stable thermal behavior, and analyzing the stress-strain curve by the mechanical compression test, the characteristic behavior of porous materials was observed. Cytotoxicity test for pure PCL structures and PCL / Honey 5% showed cell viability around 90%, characterizing them as non-toxic when in contact with the cells, enabling its use as a biomaterial.