title: Fabrication and characterization of layered chitosan/silk fibroin/nano-hydroxyapatite scaffolds with designed composition and mechanical properties.
abstract: Chitosan/nano-hydroxyapatite (HA) composites were first prepared and then used together with chitosan and silk fibroin (SF) to produce a type of four-layer porous scaffold that is potentially applicable for articular cartilage repair. The bottom layer of the scaffold was built with the chitosan/HA composite and the other three layers of the scaffold were fabricated using chitosan/SF composites in which the content of the chitosan and SF was altered in a mutually reversed trend. The so-produced chitosan/SF/HA scaffolds were further crosslinked using tripolyphosphate to achieve enhanced mechanical properties. Interconnected porous microstructures throughout the scaffolds were constructed using a temperature gradient processing technique, and the resultant scaffolds were endowed with graded pore-sizes and porosities as well as porous interface zones between contiguous layers without visual clefts. The compressive modulus and stress at 10% strain of the scaffolds in wet state showed a gradient-changed trend which partially mimics the compressive mechanical properties of an articular cartilage matrix. Cell culture on some chitosan/SF/HA scaffolds for a period of time of up to 14 d showed that the scaffolds were able to well support the growth and infiltration of cells, suggesting that the presently developed chitosan/SF/HA scaffolds have promising potential for articular cartilage repair.
authors.affiliation: College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Ting
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Jingjing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Jiaoyan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D048271:Chitosan / Q000737:chemistry*; D019902:Chondrocytes / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology*; D019245:Compressive Strength; D017886:Durapatite / Q000737:chemistry*; D055119:Elastic Modulus; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D005349:Fibroins / Q000737:chemistry*; D006244:Hardness; D008422:Materials Testing; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry / Q000648:ultrastructure; D010316:Particle Size; D066330:Printing, Three-Dimensional; D011817:Rabbits; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D013718:Tensile Strength; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds
chemical_list: C482288:fibroin, silkworm; D005349:Fibroins; D048271:Chitosan; D017886:Durapatite