Experimental method to characterize the strain dependent permeability of tissue engineering scaffolds

Permeability is an overarching mechanical parameter encompassing the effects of porosity, pore size, and interconnectivity of porous structures. This parameter directly influences transport of soluble particles and indirectly regulates fluid pressure and velocity in tissue engineering scaffolds. The permeability also contributes to the viscoelastic behavior of visco-porous material under loading through frictional drag mechanism. We propose a straightforward experimental method for permeability characterization of tissue engineering scaffolds. In the developed set-up a step-wise spacer was designed to facilitate measurement of the permeability under different compressive strains while maintaining similar experimental conditions during the successive measurements. As illustration of the method, we measured the permeability of scaffolds presenting different average pore sizes and subjected to different compression values. Results showed an exponential relationship between the permeability and the average pore size of the scaffolds. Furthermore, the trend of the permeability decrease with compressive strains was depending on pore sizes of the scaffolds. The permeability also appeared to play a role in relaxation behavior of the scaffolds.