Evaluation of Alginate coated Chitosan Membrane for Guided Tissue Regeneration

Chitosan membranes prepared by a thermal induced phase separation method and then alginate was coated onto the membrane on one side by a modified dialysis apparatus to prepare alginate/chitosan membranes (A/C membranes). ESCA analysis, SEM observation and contact angle measurements were conducted to evaluate the differences existed in the surface properties. Besides, mechanical strength, degradation behavior and especially, cell adhesion test was also examined to survey the feasibility of using this type of A/C membrane in guided tissue regeneration (GTR) application. The preliminary results obtained revealed that alginate could effectively be coated onto the chitosan membrane (from ESCA and SEM results). The contact angle decreased on the alginate side as compared with the chitosan-side (from 88.4deg to 34.2deg). The A/C membrane had a water higher content of 71.8 % as compare with the chitosan membrane (61.8%). Chitosan membranes coated with alginate also increased the Young's modulus and the ultimate strength, whereas, the elongation of these membranes were remained at the same range. A/C membrane and chitosan membrane prepared in this study degraded to about 75% of initial weight after a 30-day in vitro shaking test. The 3T3 fibroblast cells showed less adhesive on alginate side as compared with the chitosan side and glass surface in cell adhesion test. The obtained results from this study suggested that the alginate molecules could be coated onto the chitosan membrane by our modified dialysis apparatus and provided a different surface morphological structures and properties of chitosan membrane. This A/C membrane could provide extra benefits and potentials than chitosan membrane used in GTR applications.