writer：Zhi-Sen Shen*, Xiang Cui, Rui-Xia Hou, Qun Li, Hong-Xia Deng and Jun Fu,*
keywords：chitosan, gelatin, hydrogel, cartilage
source：期刊
specific source：RSC Advances
Issue time：2015年

Tough porous chitosan-gelatin (CG) hydrogels have been prepared through in situ precipitation with the porosity and degradation rates tunable by adjusting the preparation formulations. Compression tests showed a Young’s modulus of 3.25 MPa and a compressive strength of 2.15 MPa for the optimized C4G4 hydrogels, which are similar to or higher than those for human cartilages. Cyclic compression tests showed overlapping hysteresis loops for several cycles, with the compressive toughness of about 75.8 J m^-2. In vitro enzymatic degradation results showed a degradation of 65.9% in 70 days, comparable to the regeneration rate of engineered cartilage reported in literature. Moreover, in vitro cell culture expeirments showed excellent adhesion and proliferation of human thyroid cartilage cells on these hydrogels, where the chondrocytes function to secrete ECM. These tough and biodegradable hydrogels may have potential applications for cartilage tissue engineering.