Fabrication of Gelatin Scaffolds using Thermally Induced Phase Separation Technique

Gelatin is considered as a partially degraded product of collagen and it is a biodegradable polymer which can be used to produce scaffolds for tissue engineering. Three-dimensional, porous gelatin scaffolds were fabricated by thermally induced phase separation and freeze-drying method. Their porous structure and pore size were characterized by scanning electron microscopy. Scaffolds with different pore sizes were obtained by adjusting the concentration of the gelatin solution. Scaffolds with 3.75% (w/v) gelatin and 5% (w/v) gelatin produced pores ranging from 100 to 450μm. The average pore size increased with an increase in gelatin concentration. The properties of the scaffolds in terms of water uptake were studied. The results showed that when the concentration of the gelatin solution was changed from 3.75% to 5%, the water absorption of the fabricated scaffolds decreased by 104%. The increment in the concentration of gelatin induced a reduction in water uptake in the scaffolds produced.