Microstructured chitosan/poly({gamma}-glutamic acid) polyelectrolyte complex hydrogels by computer-aided wet-spinning for biomedical three-dimensional scaffolds

The application of additive manufacturing principles to hydrogel processing represents a powerful route to develop porous three-dimensional constructs with a variety of potential biomedical applications, such as scaffolds for tissue engineering and three-dimensional in vitro tissue models. The aim of this study was to develop novel porous hydrogels based on a microstructured polyelectrolyte complex between chitosan and poly(-glutamic acid) by applying a computer-aided wet-spinning technique. The developed fabrication process was used to build up three-dimensional porous hydrogels by collecting microstructured layers made of chitosan/poly(-glutamic acid) on top of the other. Microstructured polyelectrolyte complex hydrogels were characterized and compared to chitosan/poly(-glutamic acid) porous hydrogels with similar composition prepared by conventional freeze-drying technique. Fourier transform infrared analysis confirmed the formation of an electrostatic interaction between the two processed polymers in all the developed chitosan/poly(-glutamic acid) hydrogels. The composition of the porous constructs as well as the employed processing techniques had a significant influence on the resulting swelling, thermal, and mechanical properties. In particular, the combination of the ionic interaction between chitosan/poly(-glutamic acid) and the defined internal microarchitecture of microstructured polyelectrolyte complex hydrogels provided a significant improvement of the compressive...

Source: Journal of Bioactive and Compatible Polymers - August 23, 2016 Category: Research Authors: Puppi, D., Migone, C., Morelli, A., Bartoli, C., Gazzarri, M., Pasini, D., Chiellini, F. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research