Characterisation of polymeric tissue scaffolds.

This Guide describes current good measurement practice for obtaining structural information for polymer-based tissue scaffolds and methods for quantifying these data. It covers: Imaging techniques, for example, scanning electron microscopy and image analysis. Intrusion methods: mercury porosimetry and capillary flow porometry. Measurement of sample density and derivation of porosity using the buoyancy method. Example results are presented to illustrate and compare data generated by the above methods. Although this document focuses on polymer based tissue scaffolds the principles can be applied to other porous materials subject to their properties and the constraints of the techniques