The development of an embedding technique for polylactide sponges

The use of absorbable polymeric biomaterials is increasing in the field of tissue engineering. These polymeric scaffolds provide mechanical strength a nd shape as the engineered tissue forms. Histological analysis is an import ant part of the development of an appropriate polymeric construct, because it allows the analysis of the cell/material interaction, Unfortunately, rou tine paraffin processing often degrades these absorbable polymers, and rout ine staining can dissolve the remnants. This research sought to develop a h istological procedure that would retain the polymer structure. Two processi ng procedures, paraffin and glycol methacrylate, were tested on three in vi tro groups of poly-L-lactide sponges, high cell density seeding, low cell d ensity seeding, and a control. The paraffin processing caused shrinkage and degradation of the polymer, and staining dissolved the remnants. The glyco l methacrylate processing minimized damage to the polymer even after staini ng. (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.