Study On The Structure And Property Of Polycaprolactone/Chitosan Gradient Scaffold

Articular cartilage has a multi-layer structure and shows special functions. In general,the three layers inside the articular cartilage can significantly affect the behavior of cells ineach layer. Traditional scaffolds for articular cartilage repair do not have a gradientstructure, and thus, they can not offer effective support for the growth of articular cartilage.It has been verified that to repair an organ with gradient structure, a scaffold with similargradient structure is needed. As the Articular cartilage has such a gradient structure, ascaffold with similar gradient structure is needed to repair it.The target of this thesis is to create a type of scaffolds that can function as a desirablecarrier for chondrocytes to adhere, grow and differentiation. Stacked freeze-dried methodwas adopted to prepare polycaprolactone-chitosan porous gradient scaffolds beingconsisted of three layers. By controlling the amount of polycaprolactone (PCL) andchitosan (CS) in the mixed solutions, and amount of solvents, the porosity of each layerwas effectively controlled. The gradient structures in porosity was observed and theywould meet needs of growth of the articular cartilage. After completion of the scaffold,surface structure of the stent SEM, porosity and pore size, swelling properties, mechanicalproperties and degradational character was analyzed to characterize the performance of thescaffold. These Lay the foundation for the cells and animal experiments to be conducted.