Abstract: Poly(lactic acid) and its copolymers are regarded as the most useful biomaterials. The good biocompatibility, biodegradability and mechanical properties of them make the synthetic biodegradable polymers have primary application to tissue engineering. The advantages and disadvantages of the synthetic biodegradable polymers as cell scaffold materials are evaluated. This article reviews the modification of polylactide-family aliphatic polymers to improve the cell affinity when the polymers are used as cell scaffolds. We have developed four main approaches: to modify polyester cell scaffolds in combination of plasma treating and collagen coating; to introduce hydrophilic segments into aliphatic polyester backbones; to introduce pendant functional groups into polyester chains; to modify polyester with dextran. The results of the cell cultures prove that the approaches mentioned above have improved the cell affinity of the polyesters and have modulated cell function such as adhesion, proliferation and migration.

Key words: Aliphatic polyester, Modification, Scaffold, Cell affinity, Tissue engineering