Chitosan has been used in several tissue engineering applications due to its inherent biocompatibility and biodegradability. However, applications are often restrained by its limited solubility at physiological pH. We developed a novel highly water soluble and thermoresponsive chitosan having improved solubility from pH 1-12, with solubility up to 40% w/v at pH7, and a lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of 34�C. The property of this polymer allows the facile use of high internal phase emulsion (HIPE) templating method, with and without surfactant, to form very porous thermoresponsive macroporous foams. The foams are able to retain its thermo-responsiveness after formation and were found to be able to dissolve at room temperature, thereby providing a simpler route for cell retrieval as compared to traditional 3D scaffolds.

Highly water soluble chitosan for the development of highly porous thermoreversible PolyHIPE foams suitable for tissue engineering

245th National Meeting (2013)

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