Shemyakin & Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry of Russian Academy of Sciences, Miklukho-Maklaya str., 16/10, Moscow 117997, Russia; Federal Scientific Research Centre "Crystallography and Photonics" RAS, Leninsky prospect, 59, Moscow 119333, Russia.
Shemyakin & Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry of Russian Academy of Sciences, Miklukho-Maklaya str., 16/10, Moscow 117997, Russia; Federal Scientific Research Centre "Crystallography and Photonics" RAS, Leninsky prospect, 59, Moscow 119333, Russia; I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Trubetskaya St., 8/2, Moscow 119991, Russia.
Int J Biol Macromol. 2022 Aug 31;215:501-511. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2022.06.094. Epub 2022 Jun 16.
Wide application of chitosan in modern technologies is limited by the lack of reliable and low-cost techniques to prepare size-tuned constructs with a complex surface morphology, improved optical and mechanical properties. We report a new simple method for preparation of transparent thermoreversible chitosan alcogels from chitosan/HO/ethanol ternary systems. This method, termed "low temperature thermally induced phase separation under non-freezing conditions" (LT-TIPS-NF), fine tunes gelation by adjusting only temperature (from 5 to -25 °C) and varying the initial content of chitosan (from 0.5 to 2.0 wt%) and ethanol (from 28.5 to 47.5 vol%). Transparent non-swelling final constructs of complex shape are prepared by fixing the pre-formed alcogels with a base solution. The size of the gel constructs is limited only by the dimensions of the mold and the cooling chamber. The LT-TIPS-NF is applicable both in injection molding and 3D printing techniques. The in vitro and in vivo experiments show the absence of prominent cytotoxicity and well-defined cell adhesion on the obtained hydrogels. Thus, this facile and scalable technique provides the multifunctional chitosan gel preparation with easily controlled properties exploiting inexpensive, renewable, and environmentally friendly source polysaccharide. These materials have prospects for a variety of uses, especially for biomedical applications.
壳聚糖在现代技术中的广泛应用受到限制，因为缺乏可靠且低成本的技术来制备具有复杂表面形貌、改善光学和机械性能的尺寸可调结构。我们报告了一种从壳聚糖/HO/乙醇三元体系制备透明热可逆壳聚糖醇凝胶的新简单方法。该方法称为“低温非冻结条件下热诱导相分离”（LT-TIPS-NF），通过仅调整温度（从 5 到-25°C）和改变壳聚糖（从 0.5 到 2.0wt%）和乙醇（从 28.5 到 47.5vol%）的初始含量来精细调整凝胶化。通过用碱溶液固定预先形成的醇凝胶来制备具有复杂形状的透明非溶胀最终结构。凝胶结构的尺寸仅受模具和冷却室尺寸的限制。LT-TIPS-NF 适用于注塑和 3D 打印技术。体外和体内实验表明，所获得的水凝胶不存在明显的细胞毒性和明确的细胞黏附。因此，这种简单且可扩展的技术为多功能壳聚糖凝胶的制备提供了具有易于控制的特性，利用了廉价、可再生且环保的多糖源。这些材料具有多种用途的前景，特别是在生物医学应用中。
