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A sandwich tubular scaffold derived from chitosan for blood vessel tissue engineering
Author(s) -
Zhang Ling,
Ao Qiang,
Wang Aijun,
Lu Guangyuan,
Kong Lijun,
Gong Yandao,
Zhao Nanming,
Zhang Xiufang
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of biomedical materials research part a
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.849
H-Index - 150
eISSN - 1552-4965
pISSN - 1549-3296
DOI - 10.1002/jbm.a.30614
Subject(s) - scaffold , materials science , chitosan , tissue engineering , biomedical engineering , porosity , swelling , composite material , chemical engineering , medicine , engineering
Abstract Many materials have been investigated in blood vessel tissue engineering, such as PGA, PLGA, P4HB. However, chitosan is not mentioned in the arena. This study aimed to develop a chitosan‐based tubular scaffold and examine its feasibility of being applied in this field. Briefly, a knitted chitosan tube was dipped into chitosan solution (2%, w/v) and dried, then its inner and outer surface was mantled with a layer of chitosan/gelatin (4:1, w/w) complex solution, and then freeze‐dehydrated. In vitro characterization showed that the scaffold had a wall of 1.0 mm in thickness with a sandwich structure, and a porosity of 81.2%. The pore diameter was 50–150 μm and could be regulated by varying freezing conditions. The scaffold possessed proper swelling property, burst strength of almost 4000 mmHg, and high suture‐retention strength. After degradation for 2 months, the scaffold could maintain enough mechanical strength with an average mass loss of 18.7%. Vascular smooth muscle cells could spread and grow very well on the scaffold. This study provided a novel method to fabricate chitosan and its complex into a tubular scaffold and demonstrated the feasibility of the scaffold employed in the field of blood vessel tissue engineering. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res, 2006