RT journal article
T1 Morphological 3D Analysis of PLGA/Chitosan Blend Polymer Scaffolds and Their Impregnation with Olive Pruning Residues via Supercritical CO2
A1 García Casas, Ignacio
A1 Valor López, Diego
A1 Elayoubi, Hafsa
A1 Montes Herrera, Antonio
A1 Pereyra López, Clara María
A2 Ingeniería Química y Tecnología de Alimentos
K1 scaffolds
K1 polymers
K1 3D analysis
K1 DragonFly
K1 PLGA
K1 chitosan
K1 olive pruning
K1 CO2
AB Natural extracts, such as those from the residues of the Olea europaea industry, offer an opportunity for use due to their richness in antioxidant compounds. These compounds can be incorporated into porous polymeric devices with huge potential for tissue engineering such as bone, cardiovascular, osteogenesis, or neural applications using supercritical CO2. For this purpose, polymeric scaffolds of biodegradable poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) and chitosan, generated in situ by foaming, were employed for the supercritical impregnation of ethanolic olive leaf extract (OLE). The influence of the presence of chitosan on porosity and interconnectivity in the scaffolds, both with and without impregnated extract, was studied. The scaffolds have been characterized by X-ray computed microtomography, scanning electron microscope, measurements of impregnated load, and antioxidant capacity. The expansion factor decreased as the chitosan content rose, which also occurred when OLE was used. Pore diameters varied, reducing from 0.19 mm in pure PLGA to 0.11 mm in the two experiments with the highest chitosan levels. The connectivity was analyzed, showing that in most instances, adding chitosan doubled the average number of connections, increasing it by a factor of 2.5. An experiment was also conducted to investigate the influence of key factors in the impregnation of the extract, such as pressure (10–30 MPa), temperature (308–328 K), and polymer ratio (1:1–9:1 PLGA/chitosan). Increased pressure facilitated increased OLE loading. The scaffolds were evaluated for antioxidant activity and demonstrated substantial oxidation inhibition (up to 82.5% under optimal conditions) and remarkable potential to combat oxidative stress-induced pathologies.
PB Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI)
SN 2073-4360
YR 2024
FD 2024
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10498/33773
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10498/33773
LA eng
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Cádiz
RD 21-sep-2026