Santos-Rosales, VíctorVíctorSantos-RosalesGallo, MartaMartaGalloJaeger, PhilipPhilipJaegerAlvarez-Lorenzo, CarmenCarmenAlvarez-LorenzoGómez-Amoza, José LuisJosé LuisGómez-AmozaGarcía-González, Carlos A.Carlos A.García-González2020-10-012020-10-012020-08-07Journal of Supercritical Fluids (166): 105012 (2020-12-01)http://hdl.handle.net/11420/7445Hierarchically porous synthetic bone grafts (scaffolds) are gaining attention in the clinical arena. Scaffolds should combine morphological (macro- and microporosity, pore interconnectivity), mechanical and biological (biocompatibility, degradation rate) properties to fit this specific use. Supercritical (sc-) foaming is a versatile scaffold processing technology. However, the selection of the optimum operating conditions to obtain a defined scaffold structure is hampered by the lack of a single characterization technique able to fully elucidate the porous features of the resulting scaffolds. In this work, the effect of soaking time (1, 3 and 5 h) on the preparation of poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL, 50 kDa) scaffolds by sc-foaming was evaluated by a combined X-ray microtomography (μ-CT) and mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) 3D-morphological analysis. Mechanical tests and in silico modelling for cell penetration and water permeability of the scaffolds were also conducted. Results evidenced the relevance of μ-CT and MIP as a synergistic analytical duo to fully elucidate the morphology of the sc-foamed scaffolds and the soaking time effect.en0896-84462020Elsevier Sciencehttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/3D-biodegradable scaffolds3D-modellingBone regenerationPore interconnectivitySupercritical foamingX-ray microtomographyTechnikJournal Article10.15480/882.295710.1016/j.supflu.2020.10501210.15480/882.2957Journal Article