Fabrication of Chitosan Scaffolds with Tunable Porous Orientation Structure for Tissue Engineering

Chitosan, as an example of natural macromolecular biomaterials, was used to fabricate highly porous chitosan scaffolds with microtubules having a tubular orientation structure using the unidirectional freeze-drying method. The porous structure of the scaffolds was characterized via scanning electron microscopy. The factors that affect the porous structure of the scaffolds, such as the concentration of chitosan solution and addition of glutaraldehyde as cross-linking agent, have been extensively studied in order to find a facile and efficient way to control the porosity, tubular morphology and orientation of the microtubules. The properties of the chitosan scaffolds, including water absorption ability, compressive strength, protein adsorption and in vitro enzymatic biodegradation in the presence of lysozyme, were also investigated. In vitro cell-culture results showed that the chitosan scaffold was non-toxic to cartilage cells and the cells could spread and grow well on the scaffolds.