Characterization of chitosan scaffolds for pulp tissue engineering

Chitosan possess many special properties for application in tissue engineering. Three dimensional chitosan scaffolds are possibly suitable for pulp therapy. Therefore, characterization of these scaffolds is necessary before any application. Objective: Characterization of 2% and 3% chitosan scaffolds for pulp tissue engineering. Methods: Two and three percent chitosan scaffolds were fabricated through centrifugation, freeze-drying, and stabilization technique. Pore sizes of the scaffolds were detected by SEM. Swelling test and degradation rate assessment were carried out. Results: The microstructures of 2% and 3% scaffolds revealed the interconnected micro-pores. The pore sizes of 2% and 3% scaffold were not different (P > 0.05, Mann-Whitney U test, n = 9). Swelling ratios of 3% scaffolds were lower than those of 2% scaffolds (P < 0.05, student t-test, n=9). Importantly, after swelling for 5 minutes, no more dimensional change could be detected from these scaffolds. In term of degradation rate, no differences between 2% and 3% scaffolds at each timing point (P > 0.05, student t-test, n=9) were detected. However, the degradation rate of 2% and 3% scaffold from day 7 to day 21 continuously increased (P < 0.05, ANOVA, n=9). Conclusion: Two and three percent chitosan scaffolds fabricated with our method are similar in terms of morphology and degradation rate. Although swelling ratio of 2% is larger than 3% scaffold, both scaffolds could maintain their shapes after five minutes time point of swelling test. This study was supported by Prince of Songkla University and TRF grant # DBG5180009.