Production and Characterization of Chitosan Fibers and 3‐D Fiber Mesh Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering Applications

Abstract

Summary: This study reports on the production of chitosan fibers and 3‐D fiber meshes for the use as tissue engineering scaffolds. Both structures were produced by means of a wet spinning technique. Maximum strain at break and tensile strength of the developed fibers were found to be 8.5% and 204.9 MPa, respectively. After 14 d of immersion in simulated body fluid (SBF), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and inductively coupled plasma emission (ICP) spectroscopy analyses showed that a bioactive Ca‐P layer was formed on the surface of the fibers, meaning that they exhibit a bioactive behavior. The samples showed around 120% max. swelling in physiological conditions. The pore sizes of 3‐D chitosan fiber mesh scaffolds were observed to be in the range of 100–500 μm by SEM. The equilibrium‐swelling ratio of the developed scaffolds was found to be around 170% (w/w) in NaCl solution at 37 °C. Besides that, the limit swelling strain was less than 30%, as obtained by mechanical spectroscopy measurements in the same conditions. The viscoelastic properties of the scaffolds were also evaluated by both creep and dynamic mechanical tests. By means of using short‐term MEM extraction test, both types of structures (fibers and scaffolds) were found to be non‐cytotoxic to fibroblasts. Furthermore, osteoblasts directly cultured over chitosan fiber mesh scaffolds presented good morphology and no inhibition of cell proliferation could be observed. Osteoblast‐like cells proliferating over chitosan based fibers after 7 d of culture. magnified imageOsteoblast‐like cells proliferating over chitosan based fibers after 7 d of culture.