Microstructure and Thermal Property of Designed Alginate-Based Polymeric Composite Foam Materials Containing Biomimetic Decellularized Elastic Cartilage Microscaffolds.

Ching-Cheng Huang

doi:10.3390/ma15010258

Abstract

This study presents a designed alginate-based polymeric composite foam material containing decellularized elastic cartilage microscaffolds from porcine elastic cartilage by using supercritical fluid and papain treatment for medical scaffold biomaterials. The microstructure and thermal property of the designed alginate-based polymeric composite foam materials with various controlled ratios of alginate molecules and decellularized elastic cartilage microscaffolds were studied and characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and differential thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA/DTG). The microstructure and thermal property of the composite foam materials were affected by the introduction of decellularized elastic cartilage microscaffolds. The designed alginate-based polymeric composite foam materials containing decellularized elastic cartilage microscaffolds were ionically cross-linked with calcium ions by soaking the polymeric composite foam materials in a solution of calcium chloride. Additional calcium ions further improved the microstructure and thermal stability of the resulting ionic cross-linked alginate-based polymeric composite foam materials. Furthermore, the effect of crosslinking functionality on microstructures and thermal properties of the resulting polymeric composite foam materials were studied to build up useful information for 3D substrates for cultivating and growing cartilage cells and/or cartilage tissue engineering.

Highlights

Accepted: 24 December 2021Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common disease of the elderly worldwide, which is characterized by articular cartilage destruction and local inflammation, resulting in pain, disability and a significantly reduced quality of life for the affected individuals
Alginate-based biomaterials can be utilized as drug delivery systems, for cell immobilization, and as cell carriers for tissue engineering
The effect of crosslinking functionality on microstructures and thermal properties of the resulting polymeric composite foam materials (CFM) containing decellularized elastic cartilage microscaffolds (dECmS) with various dECmS/AG ratios less than 50%, such as 5/95, 15/85, and 20/80, was studied to build up useful information for 3D bioprinting as 3D

Summary

Introduction

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common disease of the elderly worldwide, which is characterized by articular cartilage destruction and local inflammation, resulting in pain, disability and a significantly reduced quality of life for the affected individuals Numerous polymeric materials such as synthetic materials and natural materials, including sodium alginate, fibrin, collagen, nanocellulose, chitosan, starch, poly(lactic acid), and polycaprolactone had been proposed, modified, and used for 3D bioinks or medical applications such as those for osteoarthritis [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17]. Alginate can be modified via chemical and physical reactions to obtain derivatives having various structures, properties, functions, and applications [13,15,16,17]

Methods

Discussion

Conclusion