Fabrication of nanochitosan incorporated polypyrrole/alginate conducting scaffold for neural tissue engineering

The utilization of conductive polymers for fabrication of neural scaffolds have attracted much interest because of providing a microenvironment which can imitate nerve tissues. In this study, polypyrrole (PPy)-alginate (Alg) composites were prepared using different percentages of alginate and pyrrole by oxidative polymerization method using FeCl₃ as an oxidant and electrical conductivity of composites were measured by four probe method. In addition, chitosan-based nanoparticles were synthesized by ionic gelation method and after characterization merged into PPy-Alg composite in order to fabricate a conductive, hydrophilic, processable and stable scaffold. Physiochemical characterization of nanochitosan/PPy-Alg scaffold such as electrical conductivity, porosity, swelling and degradation was investigated. Moreover, cytotoxicity and proliferation were examined by culturing OLN-93 neural and human dermal fibroblasts cells on the Nanochitosan/PPy-Alg scaffold. Due to the high conductivity, the film with ratio 2:10 (PPy-Alg) was recognized more suitable for fabrication of the final scaffold. Results from FT-IR and SEM, evaluation of porosity, swelling and degradation, as well as viability and proliferation of OLN-93 neural and fibroblast cells confirmed cytocompatiblity of the Nanochitosan/PPy-Alg scaffold. Based on the features of the constructed scaffold, Nanochitosan/PPy-Alg scaffold can be a proper candidate for neural tissue engineering.