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Preparation and evaluation of thiolated chitosan scaffolds for tissue engineering
Author(s) -
Li Zhe,
Cen Lian,
Zhao Li,
Cui Lei,
Liu Wei,
Cao Yilin
Publication year - 2009
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.32426
Subject(s) - chitosan , materials science , ultimate tensile strength , microstructure , scaffold , thioglycolic acid , tissue engineering , composite number , composite material , chemical engineering , biomedical engineering , chemistry , organic chemistry , medicine , engineering
Thiolated chitosan (TCS) was proposed as a promising candidate as scaffold material for tissue engineering. However, a continuous exploration of such material as a three‐dimensional (3D) scaffold with controllable design of microstructure as well as mechanical strength was necessitated. The current study was thus carried out to substantiate such potential of TCS. Thioglycolic acid (TGA) was first introduced on the side chain of chitosan (CS) via the amide bond formation between COOH groups of TGA and NH 2 groups of CS. Composite TCS/CS scaffolds with different ratios were prepared via freeze‐drying under different temperatures to optimize the structural properties. The microstructure of the scaffolds was observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and tensile strength of scaffolds was measured. Both the TCS/CS proportion and freezing temperature affected the microstructure and mechanical property of scaffolds, which in turn rendered effects on the growth of cultured fibroblasts. Scaffolds obtained from the TCS/CS proportion of 7:3 and a freezing temperature of −20°C had the maximum tensile strength with a pore distribution ranging from a few to several hundred micrometers. The preferential growth of fibroblasts on this scaffold was also demonstrated. Hence, results in this study would offer valuable information on the preparation of suitable TCS scaffolds for tissue engineering. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res, 2010