Patent ID: 8293046

Claim:
A process for producing a porous body with different physical properties in desired regions, wherein the process comprises the following (A) to (D): (A) providing at least two raw materials having different compositions, each of which contains a polymer and a solvent, wherein at least one of the raw materials is a gelled product that is obtained by the following (A1) to (A3): (A1) mixing the polymer and the solvent to prepare a mixture, (A2) allowing the mixture to stand to separate the mixture into a liquid phase and a gel phase, and (A3) recovering the gel phase as the gelled product, (B) freezing the respective raw materials into desired shapes to form frozen bodies of the respective raw materials, (C) forming an assembly of the frozen bodies, where at least one of the following (C1) and (C2) is included, (C1) forming the assembly of the frozen bodies and then exposing the assembly to a condition under which the frozen bodies begin to melt, and (C2) exposing the respective frozen bodies to a condition under which the frozen bodies begin to melt and then forming the assembly of the frozen bodies, and (D) freeze-drying the assembly after (C) to form a porous body.