Characterization of Chitosan-Based Scaffolds Seeded with Sheep Nasal Chondrocytes for Cartilage Tissue Engineering.

Characterization of Chitosan-Based Scaffolds Seeded with Sheep Nasal Chondrocytes for Cartilage Tissue Engineering. Ann Biomed Eng. 2021 Jan 06;: Authors: Rogina A, Pušić M, Štefan L, Ivković A, Urlić I, Ivanković M, Ivanković H Abstract The treatment of cartilage defect remains a challenging issue in clinical practice. Chitosan-based materials have been recognized as a suitable microenvironment for chondrocyte adhesion, proliferation and differentiation forming articular cartilage. The use of nasal chondrocytes to culture articular cartilage on an appropriate scaffold emerged as a promising novel strategy for cartilage regeneration. Beside excellent properties, chitosan lacks in biological activity, such as RGD-sequences. In this work, we have prepared pure and protein-modified chitosan scaffolds of different deacetylation degree and molecular weight as platforms for the culture of sheep nasal chondrocytes. Fibronectin (FN) was chosen as an adhesive protein for the improvement of chitosan bioactivity. Prepared scaffolds were characterised in terms of microstructure, physical and biodegradation properties, while FN interactions with different chitosans were investigated through adsorption-desorption studies. The results indicated faster enzymatic degradation of chitosan scaffolds with lower deacetylation degree, while better FN interactions with material were achieved on chitosan with higher number of amine groups. Histologica...
Source: Annals of Biomedical Engineering - Category: Biomedical Engineering Authors: Tags: Ann Biomed Eng Source Type: research