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Articles

Mechanical and structural response of a hybrid hydrogel based on chitosan and poly(vinyl alcohol) cross-linked with epichlorohydrin for potential use in tissue engineering

, , , , , , , & show all
Pages 32-50 | Received 18 May 2013, Published online: 05 Sep 2013
 

Abstract

The development and characterization of a hybrid hydrogel based on chitosan (CS) and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) chemically cross-linked with epichlorohydrin (ECH) is presented. The mechanical response of these hydrogels was evaluated by uniaxial tensile tests; in addition, their structural properties such as average molecular weight between cross-link points (Mcrl), mesh size (DN), and volume fraction (vs) were determined. This was done using the equivalent polymer network theory in combination with the obtained results from tensile and swelling tests. The films showed Young’s modulus values of 11 ± 2 MPa and 9 ± 1 MPa for none irradiated and ultraviolet (UV) irradiated hydrogels, respectively. The cell viability was assessed using Calcein AM and Ethidium homodimer-1 assay and environmental scanning electron microscopy. The 1-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-3,5-diphenylformazan thiazolyl blue formazan (MTT Formazan assay) results did not show cytotoxic effects; this was in good agreement with nuclear magnetic resonance and fourier transform infrared spectroscopies; their results did not show traces of ECH. This indicated that after the crosslinking process, there was no free ECH; furthermore, any possibility of ECH release in the construct during cell culture was discarded. The CS-PVA-ECH hybrid hydrogel allowed cell growth and extracellular matrix formation and showed adequate mechanical, structural, and biological properties for potential use in tissue engineering applications.

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank for the financial support to the DGAPA-UNAM- PAPIIT through project number IB100512-RR180512 and CONACYT through project numbers 114359 and 78798. The authors are also grateful to Damaris Cabrero and Gerardo Cedillo for their technical support.

Notes

1 Time intervals in minutes were: 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10,12.5, 15, 20, 25, 30, 45, 60,120, 180, 240, 320, 1440 and 2880.

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