Thermoresponsive Behavior of Scaffolds Based on Fumarate-N-isopropylacrylamide Copolymers for Potential Biomedical Applications

In this work, we analyze the thermoresponsive behavior of scaffolds prepared from dioctyl fumarate-N-isopropylacrylamide copolymers (DFN) with different compositions. Lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of these biomaterials was determined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and transmittance measurement, finding that LCST increase when the content of fumaric monomer increase in the copolymer. The effect of this behavior on the swelling capacity, superficial hydrophilicity and cellular response was also studied. Our results show that both cell viability and osteoblastic cell differentiation are regulated not only by the composition of the copolymer, but also the LCST of each one of them.