title: A viscoelastic chitosan-modified three-dimensional porous poly(L-lactide-co-ε-caprolactone) scaffold for cartilage tissue engineering.
abstract: Biomaterials have been playing important roles in cartilage regeneration. Although many scaffolds have been reported to enhance cartilage regeneration, none of the scaffolds available are optimal regarding mechanical properties, integration with host cartilage and providing proper micro-environment  for chondrocyte attachment, proliferation and differentiation. In the current study, chitosan-modified poly(L-lactide-co-ε-caprolactone) (PLCL) scaffolds were fabricated to simulate the main biochemical components of cartilage, as well as their interaction with the aim to endow  them with viscoelasticity similar to native cartilage. Porous PLCL scaffolds were fabricated with porogen-leaching, freeze-extraction and freeze-gelation before chitosan was cross-linked. The acquired porous scaffolds had pore sizes ranging from 200 to 500 μm and about 85% porosity with  good interconnection between individual pores. Chitosan was successfully cross-linked to PLCL scaffolds, as validated by ninhydrin staining and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The viscoelasticity of the scaffolds was similar to that of bovine cartilage and they had a relatively good  recovery ratio from compression deformation, while the Young's modulus was one order of magnitude less than cartilage. Not only could the chitosan-modified PLCL scaffolds promote cell adhesion and proliferation, but also they could significantly enhance excretion of aggrecan and type-II collagen,  as testified by both histology and quantitative PCR, compared with PLCL scaffolds. With the fabrication of biomimetic scaffolds, it is possible to make scaffolds for cartilage tissue engineering, which are not only biocompatible, but also have mechanical properties similar to native cartilage.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Chao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Lili
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Zheng
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Gonhyung
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Haifeng
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Zigang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ge
mesh_terms: D053674:Aggrecans / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D002358:Cartilage, Articular / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D002417:Cattle; D002448:Cell Adhesion / Q000187:drug effects; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D048271:Chitosan / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000633:toxicity; D019902:Chondrocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects; D024043:Collagen Type II / Q000378:metabolism; D019245:Compressive Strength; D004548:Elasticity; D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D008422:Materials Testing; D009555:Ninhydrin / Q000737:chemistry; D011091:Polyesters / Q000737:chemistry*; D016062:Porosity; D013552:Swine; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds / Q000737:chemistry*; D014783:Viscosity
chemical_list: D053674:Aggrecans; D024043:Collagen Type II; D011091:Polyesters; C062968:lactide-caprolactone copolymer; D048271:Chitosan; D009555:Ninhydrin