Process Biotechnology
   Biotechnology Industry
Electronic Journal of Biotechnology ISSN: 0717-3458 Vol. 13 No. 5, Issue of September 15, 2010
© 2010 by Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso -- Chile Received March 25, 2010 / Accepted June 21, 2010
DOI: 10.2225/vol13-issue5-fulltext-15  
TECHNICAL NOTE

Characterization of a Gelatin/Chitosan/Hyaluronan scaffold-polymer

Javier Enrione
 Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología de los Alimentos
Facultad Tecnológica
Universidad de Santiago de Chile
Santiago, Chile 

Fernando Osorio
 Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología de los Alimentos
Facultad Tecnológica
Universidad de Santiago de Chile
Santiago, Chile 

Daniel López
 Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología de los Alimentos
Facultad Tecnológica
Universidad de Santiago de Chile
Santiago, Chile 

Caroline Weinstein-Oppenheimer
 Departamento de Bioquímica
Facultad de Farmacia
Universidad de Valparaíso
Valparaíso, Chile 

Miguel A. Fuentes
 Departamento de Bioquímica
Facultad de Farmacia
Universidad de Valparaíso
Valparaíso, Chile 

Ricardo Ceriani
 Universidad de Valparaíso
Departamento de Bioquímica
Facultad de Farmacia
Valparaíso, Chile 

Donald I. Brown
 Departamento de Biología y Ciencias Ambientales
Facultad de Ciencias
Universidad de Valparaíso
Valparaíso, Chile 

Fernando Albornoz
 Centro de Biotecnología
Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María
Valparaíso, Chile 

Elizabeth Sánchez
 Centro de Biotecnología
Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María
Valparaíso, Chile 

Patricio Villalobos
 Centro de Biotecnología
 Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María
Valparaíso, Chile 

Rodrigo A. Somoza
 Centro de Biotecnología
Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María
Valparaíso, Chile 

Manuel E. Young
 Centro de Biotecnología
Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María
Valparaíso, Chile 

Cristian A. Acevedo*
 Centro de Biotecnología
 Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María
Valparaíso, Chile
E-mail: cristian.acevedo@usm.cl

*Corresponding author

Financial support: CONICYT (FONDEF-Grant D07I1075, FONDECYT-Grant 11075053, FONDECYT-Grant 11090051, PBCT-Grant PSD62 and Doctoral Fellowships for R.A. Somoza) and USACH (DICYT-Grant 080771OL).

Keywords: chitosan, fibrin, gelatin, hyaluronic acid, scaffold.

Abbreviations:

DSC: Differential Scanning Calorimetry
ECM: extracellular matrix
GAG: glycosaminoglycans
HA: hyaluronic acid or hyaluronan
PGA: poly(glycolic acid)
PLA: poly(lactic acid)
RGD: Arg-Gly-Asp
Abstract   Full Text

Gelatin, chitosan and hyaluronic acid are natural components used to prepare polymeric scaffold in tissue engineering. The physical properties of these materials confer an appropriate microenvironment for cells, which can be used as a regeneration system for skin and cartilage. In this work, we prepared and characterized a Gelatin/Chitosan/Hyaluronan lyophilized-polymer. Physical properties of lyophilized-polymer changed slightly with moisture, but when polymer was totally hydrated the elasticity changed significantly. Thermophysical characterisation indicated that temperatures up to 30ºC could modify irreversibly the polymeric matrix probably due to protein denaturation. Besides, we used the polymer as scaffold to prepare a biosynthetic-skin, reporting biological behaviour and its mechanical properties.
Supported by UNESCO / MIRCEN network