3.8. Better cellular behaviour in scaffolds with smaller mean pore size
The AB and LDH assay results were utilized to determine the effects of scaffold pore size on cellular behaviour. The data showed that cellular activity decreases when the mean pore size increases on PLL-coated scaffolds (Fig. 7a). The lowest AB reduction percentages were measured for PLL+LAM coated SA and GOSA0.5 scaffolds with the largest mean pore sizes as 36.12% and 38.33%, respectively. Accordingly, the relatively lowest cytotoxicity was observed for RGOSA0.5 (116.0 µm) and RGOSA1 (114.7 µm) scaffolds with smaller mean pore sizes compared to SA and other composite scaffolds (Fig. 7b). Overall, a negative correlation (Spearman R\(=-0.83\)) was observed between mean pore size of scaffolds and cellular activity (obtained by AB assay). Conversely, a weak positive correlation (Spearman R\(=0.06\)) was seen between the mean pore size of scaffolds and cytotoxicity (obtained by LDH assay). These findings indicate that increasing mean pore size decreases DPSCs metabolic activity with no corresponding relationship to cytotoxicity.