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Chitosan/gelatin blends for biomedical applications
Author(s) -
Pulieri Ettore,
Chiono Valeria,
Ciardelli Gianluca,
Vozzi Giovanni,
Ahluwalia Arti,
Domenici Claudio,
Vozzi Federico,
Giusti Paolo
Publication year - 2008
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.31492
Subject(s) - materials science , gelatin , polydimethylsiloxane , biocompatibility , chitosan , composite material , thermogravimetry , scanning electron microscope , polymer , chemical engineering , organic chemistry , chemistry , engineering , metallurgy
Abstract Blends between chitosan (CS) and gelatin (G) with various compositions (CS/G 0/100 20/80, 40/60, 60/40, 100/0 w/w) were produced as candidate materials for biomedical applications. Dehydro‐thermal crosslinking was adopted to promote the formation of amide and ester bonds between the macromolecules ((CS/G)‐t). The effect of composition and crosslinking on the physico‐chemical properties of the samples was evaluated by scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetry, contact angle measurements, dissolution and swelling tests. Mechanical properties of (CS/G)‐t samples were also determined through stress–strain and creep‐recovery tests. The elastic moduli of dry blend samples showed a positive deviation from the additive law of the in‐series model, because of interactions and/or chemical bonds between components. The comparison between the elastic moduli of wet samples and those of different human tissues showed that (CS/G)‐t substrates can be suitable for soft‐tissue reconstruction. (CS/G)‐t two‐dimensional scaffolds were fabricated by micro‐molding, based on the use of a polydimethylsiloxane mould to create patterns with micro‐scale resolution on cast films. Biocompatibility of (CS/G)‐t samples was studied by means of cell tests using NIH‐3T3 fibroblasts. Finally, the evaluation of the affinity of (CS/G)‐t samples towards neuroblastoma cells adhesion and proliferation was performed, showing promising results for the blend containing 80 wt % gelatin. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res, 2008