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Influence of processing parameters on pore structure of 3D porous chitosan–alginate polyelectrolyte complex scaffolds
Author(s) -
Florczyk Stephen J.,
Kim DaeJoon,
Wood David L.,
Zhang Miqin
Publication year - 2011
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.33153
Subject(s) - materials science , chitosan , polyelectrolyte , porosity , chemical engineering , tissue engineering , fabrication , viscosity , acetic acid , polymer , composite material , biomedical engineering , chemistry , organic chemistry , medicine , alternative medicine , pathology , engineering
Fabrication of porous polymeric scaffolds with controlled structure can be challenging. In this study, we investigated the influence of key experimental parameters on the structures and mechanical properties of resultant porous chitosan–alginate (CA) polyelectrolyte complex (PEC) scaffolds, and on proliferation of MG‐63 osteoblast‐like cells, targeted at bone tissue engineering. We demonstrated that the porous structure is largely affected by the solution viscosity, which can be regulated by the acetic acid and alginate concentrations. We found that the CA PEC solutions with viscosity below 300 Pa.s yielded scaffolds of uniform pore structure and that more neutral pH promoted more complete complexation of chitosan and alginate, yielding stiffer scaffolds. CA PEC scaffolds produced from solutions with viscosities below 300 Pa.s also showed enhanced cell proliferation compared with other samples. By controlling the key experimental parameters identified in this study, CA PEC scaffolds of different structures can be made to suit various tissue engineering applications. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A:, 2011.