Femtosecond laser irradiation of the fluorescent molecules-loaded poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid)

Molecular release from scaffolds is desired for tailoring cell-compatible tissue engineering. Several methods have been proposed to control molecular release, such as annealing, plasma treatment, and laser processing. In this study, we describe the alteration of Rhodamine B (RhB)-loaded poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) after femtosecond laser irradiation, which was evaluated on the basis of the water absorption and mass remaining. Fluorescence measurement of released RhB molecules revealed the acceleration of the molecular release upon 400-nm laser irradiation, whereas 800-nm laser irradiation did not induce a comparable degree of change compared with non-irradiated samples. The result of the water absorption measurement indicates that the large amount of water absorption of 400-nm laser-irradiated PLGA sample may accelerate the diffusion of the loaded molecules through absorbing water, which resulted in the faster molecular release.