polymers Article Biomimetic Polyurethane 3D Scaffolds Based on Polytetrahydrofuran Glycol and Polyethylene Glycol for Soft Tissue Engineering Kun Luo, Li Wang * , Xiaohu Chen, Xiyang Zeng, Shiyi Zhou *, Peicong Zhang and Junfeng Li * College of Materials, Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu 610059, Sichuan, China;
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[email protected] (J.L.) Received: 30 September 2020; Accepted: 3 November 2020; Published: 9 November 2020 Abstract: In this study, a novel polyurethane porous 3D scaffold based on polyethylene glycol (PEG) and polytetrahydrofuran glycol (PTMG) was developed by in situ polymerization and freeze drying. Aliphatic hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI) as a nontoxic and safe agent was adopted to produce the rigid segment in polyurethane polymerization. The chemical structure, macrostructure, and morphology—as well as mechanical strength of the scaffolds—were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and tensile tests. The results show that the HDI can react mildly with hydroxyl (–OH) groups of PEG and PTMG, while gas foaming action caused by the release of CO2 occurred simultaneously in the reactive process, resulting in a uniform porous structure of PU scaffold. Moreover, the scaffolds were soaked in water and freeze dried to obtain higher porosity and more interconnective microstructures. The scaffolds have a porosity of over 70% and pore size from 100 to 800 µm. The mechanical properties increased with increasing PEG content, while the hydrophilicity increased as well.