Development and Characterization of Unidirectional Aligned Macroporous Alginate Scaffold by Ionotropic Gelation Using Calcium Chloride

Abstract

Regenerative medicine intends to restore lost functionality by healing tissues defects. For thisnovel types of biodegradable implants have to be used that first foster healing and later takepart in the natural remodeling cycle of the body. Ideally, the implant shouldmimic the desired tissue. That means that the biomaterial should resemble the extracellularmatrix (ECM) which is expressed by specific cells and acts as the biological scaffold of livingtissues. In this project alginate is crosslinked bya process called ionotropic gelation using calcium chloride to obtain uniaxial and aligned pores with tubular structures in the macrometer range. The characterization of pores was done using simple microscope and Scanning electron microscopy. The change in pore diameter and density was compared in different concentrations of alginate (0.5%, 1% and 2%) and calcium chloride (0.5M, 1M and 2M).Cross-linking density was studied using swelling and disintegration test while chemical bonding was analyzed using FTIR spectroscopy. These tests showed that calcium divalent ions help in cross linking of poly G units and the subsequent formation of egg-box junction which is the underlying principle for the formation of aligned tubular pores