Effect of cooling rate and gelatin concentration on the microstructural and mechanical properties of ice template gelatin scaffolds

Abstract

In the current study, a controlled unidirectional freeze casting method was employed to fabricate highly porous gelatin scaffolds. Different gelatin concentrations of 1, 3, and 5 wt% were dissolved in distilled water, and the constant value of glutaraldehyde cross-linking agent (0.5 wt%) was added to the solution. Then, the solutions freeze casted at different cooling rates of 1, 3, and 6°C/Min and freeze dried. Finally, pore morphology, mechanical properties, and water adsorption characteristics of scaffolds were assessed. Results showed that the increase in gelatin concentration caused the pore shapes to change from oblate and polygon to almost round but the cooling rate had no obvious effect on pore morphology. Compressive strength of the scaffolds improved as a function of increase in cooling rate and gelatin concentration from 20 to 1,150 kPa. The value of water adsorption was decreased with augmentation in gelatin concentration and cooling rate in the range of 2,000%-500%. Therefore, this study suggests that the use of a controllable freeze casting method and cooling rate can tailor the pore morphology, mechanical properties, and water adsorption of gelatin scaffolds and could be a novel approach to avoid the use of a toxic dose of a cross-linking agent like glutaraldehyde.