الفهرس | Only 14 pages are availabe for public view |
Abstract Tissue engineering is a promising biomedical field concerned with providing biological substitutes to replace lost or failing tissues and organs. It involves isolating cells from an individual and seeding them in vitro on a porous biodegradable structure called “scaffold”. The scaffold-cell construct is then implanted in vivo where the cells proliferate while secreting their own extracellular matrix. Meanwhile, the scaffold gradually degrades until it becomes wholly replaced by the new tissue. It is evident that the choice of the appropriate scaffold material, whether polymer, ceramic or a combination of both, is crucial for the success of tissue engineering. Although several polymers have been used in tissue engineering, no single polymer has yet been found to fulfill all the requirements needed in a scaffold material. Thus, the aim of the present study was to develop and evaluate a new hybrid tissue engineering hydrogel scaffold that combines the advantages of two natural polymers: chitosan and cellulose. Chitosan, the main ingredient in the prepared scaffold, is a natural polcationic polymer that possesses antibacterial, hemostatic and bioadhesive properties. However, it has relatively low mechanical properties and rapid biodegradation. On the contrary, cellulose, which is the most abundant natural polymer on earth, exhibits relatively high mechanical properties and low biodegradation rate. |