Synthesis and characterization of injectable chitosan cryogel microsphere scaffolds

Abstract

Treatment of tissue defects involves invasive processes such as implanting the tissue engineered scaffold to the defected area. Injectable scaffolds are increasingly being developed to achieve tissue regeneration in a less invasive manner. In this study, injectable chitosan cryogels in the form of microspheres were synthesized combining the water in oil emulsification method with the crosslinking of microspheres during cryogelation. The effects of polymer ratio, crosslinker concentration, cryogelation temperature, and stirring speed on the resulting cryogels’ chemistry, pore morphology, microsphere size, swelling ratio, degree of crosslinking, and degradation rate were examined for a possible noninvasive tissue engineering application. Microspheres with optimized properties were developed with an average pore and particle size of 5.50 ± 0.63 and 220.11 ± 25.58 µm at a chitosan ratio of 1%, glutaraldehyde concentration of 3%, reaction temperature of −16°C, and stirring rate of 1,000 rpm.