Abstract
With their low toxicity, high mechanical strength and chemical stability, boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) are good candidates to enhance the properties of polymers, composites and scaffolds. Chitosan-based scaffolds are exhaustively investigated in tissue engineering because of their biocompatibility and antimicrobial activity. However, their spontaneous degradation prevents their use in a range of tissue engineering applications. In this study, hydroxylated BNNTs (BNNT-OH) were included into a chitosan scaffold and tested for their mechanical strength, swelling behavior and biodegradability. The results show that inclusion of BNNTs-OH into the chitosan scaffold increases the mechanical strength and pore size at values optimal for high cellular proliferation and adhesion. The chitosan/BNNT-OH scaffold was also found to be non-toxic to Human Dermal Fibroblast (HDF) cells due to its slow degradation rate. HDF cell proliferation and adhesion were increased as compared to the chitosan-only scaffold as observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and fluorescent microscopy images.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 313-320 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Carbohydrate Polymers |
Volume | 151 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Oct 20 2016 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Cell adhesion
- Chitosan
- Hydroxylated boron nitride nanotubes
- Mechanical strength
- Scaffolds
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Organic Chemistry
- Polymers and Plastics
- Materials Chemistry