Abstract
This study aimed to explore the correlation between mechanical and structural properties of chitosan-agarose blend (Ch-Agrs) scaffolds. Porosity of Ch-Agrs scaffolds was constant at 93%, whilst pore sizes varied between 150 and 550 μm. Pore sizes of the blend scaffolds (150–300 μm) were significantly smaller than for either agarose or chitosan scaffolds alone (ca. 500 μm). Ch50-Agrs50 blend scaffold showed the highest compressive modulus and strength values (4.5 ± 0.4 and 0.35 ± 0.03 MPa) due to reduction in the pore size. The presence of agarose improved the stability of the blends in aqueous media. The increase in compressive properties and residual weight after the TGA test, combined with the reduction in the swelling percentage of the blend scaffolds suggested an interaction between chitosan and agarose via hydrogen bonding which was confirmed using FTIR analysis. All wet blend scaffolds exhibited instant recovery after full compression. This study shows the potential of Ch-Agrs scaffolds for repairing soft tissue.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 59-67 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Carbohydrate Polymers |
| Volume | 204 |
| Early online date | 4 Oct 2018 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 15 Jan 2019 |
Funding
This work was supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council [grant number EP/K029592/1 ]; and the EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Medical Devices (MeDe Innovation).
Keywords
- agarose
- blend scaffolds
- chitosan
- compressive properties
- pore size
- recovery
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