title: Fumarate Copolymer-Chitosan Cross-Linked Scaffold Directed to Osteochondrogenic Tissue Engineering.
abstract: Natural and synthetic cross-linked polymers allow the improvement of cytocompatibility and mechanical properties of the individual polymers. In osteochondral lesions of big size it will be required the use of scaffolds to repair the lesion. In this work a borax cross-linked scaffold based on fumarate-vinyl acetate copolymer and chitosan directed to osteochondrondral tissue engineering is developed. The cross-linked scaffolds and physical blends of the polymers are analyzed in based on their morphology, glass transition temperature, and mechanical properties. In addition, the stability, degradation behavior, and the swelling kinetics are studied. The results demonstrate that the borax cross-linked scaffold exhibits hydrogel behavior with appropriated mechanical properties for bone and cartilage tissue regeneration. Bone marrow progenitor cells and primary chondrocytes are used to demonstrate its osteo- and chondrogenic properties, respectively, assessing the osteo- and chondroblastic growth and maturation, without evident signs of cytotoxicity as it is evaluated in an in vitro system.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Investigaciones Fisicoquímicas Teóricas y Aplicadas (INIFTA), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata (UNLP), CCT- La Plata, CONICET CC 16, Suc. 4., Argentina.|Laboratorio de Investigaciones en Osteopatías y Metabolismo Mineral (LIOMM), Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, Facultad de Cs. Exactas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, 47 y 115 (1900) La Plata, Argentina.
authors.forename: María Laura
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Lastra
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Investigaciones en Osteopatías y Metabolismo Mineral (LIOMM), Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, Facultad de Cs. Exactas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, 47 y 115 (1900) La Plata, Argentina.
authors.forename: María Silvina
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Molinuevo
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Investigaciones en Osteopatías y Metabolismo Mineral (LIOMM), Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, Facultad de Cs. Exactas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, 47 y 115 (1900) La Plata, Argentina.
authors.forename: Ana María
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Cortizo
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Investigaciones Fisicoquímicas Teóricas y Aplicadas (INIFTA), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata (UNLP), CCT- La Plata, CONICET CC 16, Suc. 4., Argentina.
authors.forename: María Susana
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Cortizo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D048271:Chitosan / Q000737:chemistry*; D020219:Chondrogenesis; D005650:Fumarates / Q000737:chemistry*; D015870:Gene Expression; D010012:Osteogenesis; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D023822:Tissue Engineering; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D005650:Fumarates; D011108:Polymers; D048271:Chitosan
keywords: biocompatibility; bone; cartilage; chitosan; cross-linked polymer; polyfumarate; tissue engineering