Fiber-Based Chitosan Tubular Scaffolds for Soft Tissue Engineering: Fabrication and in Vitro Evaluation

Porous, two-ply tubular chitosan conduits for guided tissue regeneration were fabricated bycombining the textile technique (inner layer) with the thermally induced phase separation process (outerlayer). A hollow chitosan tube was prepared using an industrial warp knitting process with chitosan yarns.Then, an appropriate diameter mandrel was inserted into the pre-fabricated tube. The tube and the mandrelwere dipped into the chitosan solution together, taken out, and freeze-dried. After being neutralized inalkaline solution and dried at room temperature, the mandrel was removed to create the chitosan tubularscaffold. Scanning electron micrographs show that the resulting tubes have a biphasic wall structure, with afibrous inner layer and a semipermeable outer layer. The swelling properties and the mechanical strengthbefore and after in vitro degradation were investigated. The biocompatibility of the scaffolds was alsoinvestigated by co-culturing neuroblastoma cells (N2A, mouse) with the scaffolds. The results suggest thatthese chitosan tubular scaffolds are useful for the regeneration of tissues requiring a tubular scaffold.