Abstract
We report the production of chitosan-based fibers and chitosan fiber-mesh structures by melt processing (solvent-free) to be used as tissue-engineering scaffolds. The melt-based approach used to produce the scaffolds does not change their main characteristics, including the surface roughness and microporosity. The porosity, pore size, interconnectivity and mechanical performance of the scaffolds are all within the range required for various tissue-engineering applications. Biological assessments are performed in direct-contact assays. Cells are able to colonize the scaffold, including the inner porous structure. The cells show high indices of viability in all of the scaffold types.The production of chitosan-based fibers and chitosan fiber-mesh structures by totally solvent-free melt processing is reported: most of the methods proposed to produce chitosan-based scaffolds have been based on the use of solvents. After being submitted to morphological, mechanical and biological tests, the scaffolds show properties of great interest towards the engineering of connective tissues.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1495-1504 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Macromolecular Bioscience |
| Volume | 10 |
| Issue number | 12 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2010 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Chitosan
- Fiber mesh
- Osteoblasts
- Scaffolds
- Tissue engineering