| Chitosan obtained by N-deacetylation of natural polymer chitin has recently sparked great interest in tissue engineering due to several desirable properties such as minimal foreign body reaction, mild processing conditions, and availability of chemical side groups for attachment to other molecules. Current difficulties with using chitosan include low strength and inconsistent behavior with cell adhesion. Covalent crosslinking of chitosan is one approach to modifying its mechanical and biological properties that could have reduced crystallinity, and might thus produce a more amorphous network microstructure with the potential for elastomeric behavior. In this study, we examined the effects of both crosslinking density and chitosan molecular weight (MW) on the properties of chitosan crosslinked with a dicarboxylic acid (sebacic acid). Mechanical and cell-interaction properties of the resultant materials were characterized. Specifically, quantitative analysis of the crosslinked films via FT-IR, ninhydrin assay and contact angle was done. Material characterization using monotonic tensile testing, swelling and degradation of cast chitosan-sebacic acid films was conducted and the adhesion, growth of lamb aortic smooth muscle cells (SMC) on these materials was examined. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)... |
