In vitro biomineralization of chitosan

The influence of chemical treatments of porous and non-porous chitosan membranes on biomineralization was studied. These treatments are: l)the crosslinking using glutaraldehyde and 2) the adsorption of poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) on chitosan. The first one blocks chitosan amino groups, inducing a more hydrophobic character to the substrate, and the second one trims the membrane surface polyanionic instead of the polycationic natural character of chitosan. Substrates (membranes) of chitosan treated in both ways were used to undergo mineralization by soaking them in simulated body fluids (SBF), with 1x or 1.5x the concentration of ions found in human serum, for 7 at 36.5 degreesC. SEM-EDS and FTIR-ATR techniques showed that glutaraldehyde tends to inhibit calcium compound deposition on substrates while PAA induces a more homogeneous and intense deposition.