2/4/2011
Performance of Surface-Modified Polycaprolactone on Growth Factor Binding, Release, and Proliferation of Smooth Muscle Cells
(64 – 78) Soft Materials 9, #1 (2011).
Darain et al of the University of Queensland, Australia and Nanyang Technological University, China treated polycaprolactone (PCL) membranes with UV/ozone.  The growth factor uptake on the PCL membrane was increased about 2-fold after treatment due to the oxygen containing polar groups resulting from UV/ozone treatment.  The treated PCL showed a prolonged bFGF release indicated by a linear increase over the first 3 days followed by a moderate and slow release profile. Moreover, the proliferation assay of PESMCs revealed that bFGF released from treated PCL had significantly higher proliferation than that of untreated PCL film. Thus, the UV/ozone-treated PCL membranes immobilized with bFGF accelerate the proliferation of PESMCs and may play an important role in soft tissue engineering.  (RDC 2/9/2011)

1/28/2011
Physicochemical characterisation of degrading polycaprolactone scaffolds  
(2269-2276)  Polymer Degradation and Stability 95 #12 (2010)
Bosworth and Downes of the University of Manchester, United Kingdom  complete a degradation study investigating the hydrolysis of different scaffolds of polycaprolactone suspended in phosphate buffer solution at 37 °C over a three month period. Structures included electrospun fibres, held as 2D mats and 3D bundles, and solvent cast films.  3D electrospun bundles - as a consequence of being the least crystalline scaffold and hence most susceptible to hydrolysis – demonstrated greatest reduction in molecular mass over the three months, followed by 2D electrospun mats, and the lowest mass loss was observed for solvent cast films. (RDC 1/29/2011)

10/29/2010
Enzymatic degradation of 3D scaffolds of starch-poly-(-caprolactone) prepared by supercritical fluid technology 
(2110-2117) Polymer Degradation and Stability 95 #10 (2010)
Duarte et al  processed a polymeric blend of starch-poly-(-caprolactone) by supercritical assisted phase inversion.  Results show that these scaffolds undergo bulk degradation by hydrolysis of chemical bonds in the polymer chain at the centre of the matrix, resulting in a highly porous material.  (RDC 12/10/20100)