Key Laboratory of Coal Conversion and New Carbon Materials of Hubei ProvinceSchool of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430081, China.
Macromol Biosci. 2021 Mar;21(3):e2000389. doi: 10.1002/mabi.202000389. Epub 2021 Jan 18.
Chitin is the second most abundant natural polysaccharide with biocompatibility and bioactivity. Aqueous KOH/urea solution is reported for rapid dissolution of chitin, therefore providing a greener and more efficient avenue to fabricate chitin-based functional materials. Chitosan is the most important derivative of chitin with the acetylation degree lower than 60%. Herein, novel chitin/chitosan composite hydrogels are fabricated from the green and highly efficient KOH/urea aqueous system for the first time. Both chitin and chitosan are dissolved in aqueous KOH/urea solutions, then cross-linked by epichlorohydrin to form bulk chitin/chitosan composite hydrogels (CCGEL). The structural, thermal, mechanical, and swelling properties of CCGEL are thoroughly studied. The cell studies show that NIH-3T3 cells self-assemble to form regular 3D multicellular spheroids on the CCGEL samples with high viability. L929 cells proliferate and intend to form cell aggregates, and the size of the cell aggregates becomes greater with the increase of chitosan loading. Additionally, the CCGEL samples exhibit antibacterial activities. Thus, this pioneering work has provided crucial information for novel chitin/chitosan composite materials constructed via the direct dissolution of chitin and chitosan in aqueous KOH/urea solutions, and presented their potential applications in the cell culture and antibacterial fields.
甲壳素是第二丰富的天然多糖，具有生物相容性和生物活性。报道称，KOH/尿素水溶液可快速溶解甲壳素，因此为制备甲壳素基功能材料提供了一种更绿色、更高效的途径。壳聚糖是甲壳素最重要的衍生物，其乙酰化程度低于 60%。本文首次采用绿色、高效的 KOH/尿素水体系制备了新型甲壳素/壳聚糖复合水凝胶。甲壳素和壳聚糖都溶解在 KOH/尿素水溶液中，然后用表氯醇交联形成块状甲壳素/壳聚糖复合水凝胶（CCGEL）。详细研究了 CCGEL 的结构、热性能、机械性能和溶胀性能。细胞研究表明，NIH-3T3 细胞在 CCGEL 样品上自组装形成规则的 3D 多细胞球体，具有很高的活力。L929 细胞增殖并倾向于形成细胞聚集物，并且随着壳聚糖负载量的增加，细胞聚集物的尺寸变得更大。此外，CCGEL 样品还表现出抗菌活性。因此，这项开创性的工作为通过甲壳素和壳聚糖在 KOH/尿素水溶液中的直接溶解来构建新型甲壳素/壳聚糖复合材料提供了重要信息，并展示了它们在细胞培养和抗菌领域的潜在应用。
