Influence of the critical concentration parameters on the morphology of chitosan scaffolds for chondrocyte culture

Chitosan-based membranes are widely investigated as scaffolds for tissue engineering applications, due to the biochemical and structural similarities between chitosan and the components of extracellular matrix. The morphological characteristics of the scaffolds, which determine the cells viability, are highly dependent on their preparation technique. This research compares chondrocytes viability seeded on chitosan scaffolds obtained from two different fabrication techniques: leaching out a porogenic agent and freeze-gelation. Because these techniques are based on chitosan solutions, the critical overlap and entanglement concentrations are important parameters to be identified and thus the dilute and concentrated regimes were calculated from rheological data. Hence, scaffolds were prepared from chitosan solutions at two concentration regimes, leading us to conclude that chitosan concentration in solution affected the final morphology of the scaffold. The preparation techniques that were used yielded scaffolds with adequate porosity to permit cell adhesion as was observed by scanning electronic microscopy, as well as good mechanical strength to support them measured by dynamic mechanical analysis. The histochemical results obtained after the chondrocytes culture assay showed that scaffolds within a three dimensional structure promoted a higher cell adherence and growth. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 52:2269-2276, 2012. © 2012 Society of Plastics Engineers
INTRODUCTION Cartilages have a minimal regenerative capacity which hinders the effective treatment of their injuries. Therefore, tissue engineering has become an important practice for rebuilding a defective or damaged tissue, [...]