Development of novel biomaterials and its practical application have been
the subject of much research in the field of scaffolds for tissue engineering,
providing the success of producing scaffolds biomaterials that facilitate
tissue growth and provide structure support for cells. The design and
production of scaffolds for tissue engineering is yet unable to completely
reproduce the native tissue properties. Preferably, scaffolds would be made of
biodegradable polymers whose properties are more similar to the ECM.Chitosan,
which is the copolymer of D-glucosamine and N-acetyl-D-glucosamine, is an
excellent material due to its versatile properties and is one of the widely
studied polymers for tissue engineering application. The objective of the
present work was to characterize mechanical and morphological chitosan
scaffolds pro- duced by a particle aggregation method. Chitosan
scaffolds were prepared throughout two steps: using the ionotropic gelation for
macrosphere production and aggregation to produce the scaffolds. The chitosan
scaffolds were characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and
Compression Tests. Through SEM results, was observed a three-dimensional
structure, with 55% porosity and interconnectivity among pores. The pores were inhomogeneous and varied in
the range of 40-262 μm. The mechanical characterization by compression tests
showed a very elastic and easily conformable structure, since the stress
required to deform the scaffold is lower. The cytotoxicity results proved that
the produced has no toxicity effects and cell viability values were enclose in
80%.
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