Tissue-engineered polyethylene oxide/chitosan scaffolds as potential substitutes for articular cartilage.

Applications of composite scaffolds comprising polyethylene oxide (PEO) and chitosan to the culture of bovine knee chondrocytes (BKC) were investigated. Here, PEO and chitosan with various weight ratios were crosslinked, refrigerated at -80 degrees C, and lyophilized. Pore surfaces of the PEO/chitosan scaffolds were chemically modified by human fibronectin for accelerating BKC adhesion and growth. The results revealed that the range of pore diameters was between 200 and 400 mum. A high content of PEO in scaffolds generated high porosity, moisture content, physical ductility, biodegradation rate, and BKC viability, as well as low Young's and compression moduli. High levels of PEO, human fibronectin, and extracellular calcium were favorable to the BKC culture, as indicated by the enhanced amounts of BKC, glycosaminoglycans, and collagen. However, a high concentration of medium potassium caused detrimental influences on the proliferation of BKC and the secretion of extracellular matrices. The present PEO/chitosan scaffolds showed enhancements in biomedical characteristics for the formation of tissue-engineered cartilage toward clinical prosthesis.