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Micro‐ and nanostructuring of freestanding, biodegradable, thin sheets of chitosan via soft lithography
Author(s) -
Fernandez Javier G.,
Mills Christopher A.,
Martinez Elena,
LopezBosque Maria J.,
Sisquella Xavier,
Errachid Abdelhamid,
Samitier Josep
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.31561
Subject(s) - materials science , lithography , chitosan , soft lithography , polymer , evaporation , thin film , nanotechnology , composite material , optoelectronics , chemical engineering , fabrication , pathology , engineering , thermodynamics , medicine , alternative medicine , physics
A technique for imparting micro‐ and nanostructured topography into the surface of freestanding thin sheets of chitosan is described. Both micro‐ and nanometric surface structures have been produced using soft lithography. The soft lithography method, based on solvent evaporation, has allowed structures ∼60 nm tall and ∼500 × 500 nm 2 to be produced on freestanding ∼0.5 mm thick sheets of the polymer when cured at 293 K, and structures ∼400 nm tall and 5 × 5 μm 2 to be produced when cured at 283 K. Nonstructured chitosan thin sheets (∼200 μm thick) show excellent optical transmission properties in the visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. The structured sheets can be used for applications where optical microscopic analysis is required, such as cell interaction experiments and tissue engineering. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res 2008