Experimental Study On Poly(Chitosan-Polycaprolactone) As Scaffolds For Tissue Engineering Cartilage

[Objective] The experiment aimed to prepare a kind of porous scaffolds made of chitosan and polycaprolactone in order to combine the advantages of the individuals into the composites.then confirmed whether man-made porous poly(chitosan-caprolactone) scaffold is a appropriate scaffold for chondrocyte culture of tissue engineering.(Methods] Chondrocytes were obtained from the articular cartilage of SD rat aged1week digested by collagenase. The chondrocytes were biologically confirmed by immunocytochemical staining of type II collagenase. To evaluate their biocompatibility, The second generation chondrocytes were cultured on these scaffolds in vitro. The morphological changes and growth feature were recorded under the inverted microscope and SEM each day. The proliferation of chondrocytes on scaffolds were evaluated by MTT assay and HE staining.(Results] It was found that the surface of the scaffolds was porous and the wall of pore was nano-fibro-mash shape under the SEM. The positive result of Collagen II immunohistochemistry staining demonstrated the chondrocytic phenotype. The scaffolds suited for attachment and proliferation of chondrocytes and for extracellular matrix retention. MTT assay revealed that chondrocytes on scaffolds had good multiplication capacity. HE staining showed chondrocytes with polygonal and triangular morphology on scaffolds contacted each other by extracellular matrix. With the extension of cultivation, the number of chondrocytes increased gradually and secreted plenty cartilaginous matrix.(Conclusions] poly(chitosan-caprolactone) scaffolds have a good compatibility with chondrocytes and are suitable for cartilage tissue engineering.