FIG. 8.

More rapid wound closure is observed for critical-sized defects implanted with porous scaffolds. (A) Three side-by-side full-thickness wounds were created in the backskin of a rat. One wound was implanted with 70:30 col/PCL scaffolds with 160 μm pores (“Pores”), another wound was implanted with 70:30 col/PCL scaffolds lacking pores (“No Pores”), and the third wound was covered with gauze (“Sham”). Shown in the figure are representative images of the backskin of individual rats imaged at 7, 14, or 21 days after implantation. (B, C) The area of the unhealed wound at 7 and 14 days was measured with image J software, and values for the wounds implanted with scaffolds were normalized to the area of the sham for each animal (n=5 animals). Student's t-tests were used to compare pores:sham ratio with no pores:sham ratio. *Significant difference (p<0.05) relative to no pores:sham group. Color images available online at www.liebertpub.com/tea