title: Influence of processing parameters on pore structure of 3D porous chitosan-alginate polyelectrolyte complex scaffolds.
abstract: 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.
authors: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195-2120, USA.
authors: Stephen J
authors: SJ
authors: Florczyk
authors: Dae-Joon
authors: DJ
authors: Kim
authors: David L
authors: DL
authors: Wood
authors: Miqin
authors: M
authors: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000464:Alginates / Q000737:chemistry*; D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D048271:Chitosan / Q000737:chemistry*; D020723:Glucuronic Acid / Q000737:chemistry; D006603:Hexuronic Acids / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D008422:Materials Testing; D010006:Osteoblasts / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D016062:Porosity; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds / Q000737:chemistry*; D014783:Viscosity
chemical_list: D000464:Alginates; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D006603:Hexuronic Acids; D011108:Polymers; D020723:Glucuronic Acid; D048271:Chitosan