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A biomimetic strategy for controllable degradation of chitosan scaffolds

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Abstract

Controllable degradation of scaffolds plays an important role in tissue engineering applications. Here, we describe a biomimetic approach to control chitosan scaffold degradation by incorporating lysozyme-loaded poly(D,L-lactic-co-glycolic acid) microspheres in 3D chitosan scaffolds. In vitro degradation tests reveal that the degradation rate increased when the mass ratio of microspheres-to-chitosan increased whereas the contrast group showed a visible turning point at 28d. In vivo degradation rate was much faster than that in vitro, and the relationship between in vitro degradation and in vivo degradation was correlative. Finally, for determining the primary biocompatibility of the combined scaffolds, studies such as cytotoxicity assay, cell attachment study and histological evaluation were carried out. It is concluded that the combination method of enzyme and scaffold is suitable for chitosan scaffold degradation; it also demonstrates an alternative strategy for other biomaterials used in tissue engineering.

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Acknowledgments

Financial supports from the Natural Science Foundation of China (31000441, 81171459) are gratefully acknowledged. The authors also thank Dr. Sun Y for the collaboration in the in vivo studies, as well as Dr. Liao W for the initial assistance with the AFM equipment.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Engineering and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Huaqiao University, Xiamen, 361021, China

    Yuangang Liu

  2. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632, China

    Changren Zhou

  3. Department of Biotechnology, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, 510006, China

    Yan Sun

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  1. Yuangang Liu
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  2. Changren Zhou
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Correspondence to Yuangang Liu.

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Liu, Y., Zhou, C. & Sun, Y. A biomimetic strategy for controllable degradation of chitosan scaffolds. Journal of Materials Research 27, 1859–1868 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2012.176

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