Fabrication and characterization of 3D scaffolds made from blends of sodium alginate and poly(vinyl alcohol)

Sodium alginate (SA) is a non-toxic, biocompatible and biodegradable natural polymer. It has good printability, which is why it is often used in inks for three-dimensional (3D) printing in tissue engineering fields. However, pure SA hydrogel has unstable mechanical properties. In this study, we fabricated a structurally stable 3D scaffold by blending SA with poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) to enhance the mechanical properties of the scaffold. Moreover, we characterized the surface morphology and various mechanical properties of the scaffolds using scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis and several mechanical tests. The SA/PVA scaffolds were mechanically more stable than the pure SA scaffold and are good candidate as implantable biodegradable scaffolds for tissue engineering and medical applications.