Polyvinyl Alcohol-Collagen Composite With Glycosaminoglycan As Scaffolds For Tissue Engineering

Objective:To prepare a PVA-GAG-COL composite material by polyvinyl alcohol(PVA), glycosaminoglycan(GAG) and collagen(COL) and to investigate the feasibility of serving as a tissue engineering scaffold for the purpose of tissue or organ repairing.Method:PVA was blended with various amounts of GAG and COL.Scaffolds of PVA-GAG-COL was fabricated by the method of film-forming and freeze drying.Water content, swelling ratio,porosity,light transmittance and mechanical property were tested.SEM was used to observe the morphology of the cross section.Laser perforation technology was used to make holes on the surface of the scaffolds.Biocompatibility of the scaffolds was tested.Results:Different proportional scaffolds could be obtained with different molecular weight and alcoholysis degree of PVA,different amount of GAG and collagen.Their water content was from 61.93%to 95.07%,swelling ration ranged from 123.61%to 621.72%and porosity was from 64.23%to 110.09%.The most ideal proportion was PVA-124 blended with 0.01g GAG and 0.04g collagen,whose light transmittance exceeded 80%.SEM proved that different proportional scaffolds had different porous structure.Inside and outside interconnection micro-porous structure was performed by the technology of laser perforation.The extracted fluid of composite material was nontoxic and could promote the adhesion and proliferation of the fibroblast.Also, fibroblast could grow on the scaffolds with mean diameter from 115um to 255um and porous interval from 500um to 2000um.Conclusion:A scaffold for tissue engineering with high water content and proper swelling ratio, porosity,light transmittance and mechanical property can be fabricated using PVA,GAG and COL.The porous structure and good biocompatibility shows potential in tissue engineering and cell culture.