A chitosan‐hyaluronic acid hydrogel scaffold for periodontal tissue engineering

Abstract The current challenge in treating periodontitis is regenerating the periodontium. This motivates tissue‐engineering researchers to develop scaffolds as artificial matrices that give mechanical support for osteoblasts, cementoblasts, gingival and periodontal ligament fibroblast cells. In this study, modified hyaluronic acid (HA) and chitosan (CS) were employed to create a hybrid CS‐HA hydrogel scaffold for periodontal regeneration. CS, HA, and CS‐HA scaffolds were obtained by freeze‐drying technique, resulting in porous structures suitable for use in tissue engineering. Scaffolds were submitted to gamma and UV‐sterilization without significant morphology changes. The ATR‐FTIR spectra of CS‐HA hydrogels showed peaks at 377 cm −1 , 1566 cm −1 , and 1614 cm −1 , representing secondary amide, primary amine, and carboxyl acid respectively, and it was also observed the emergence of peaks at 886 cm −1 , which probably represents the Schiff base formed in the case of hybrid CS‐HA hydrogels. The scaffolds presented a high rate of PBS uptake, reaching values higher than 95%. Thermal degradation of HA scaffolds was around 225°C and CS was around 285°C. The ATR‐FTIR spectra and swelling degree were slightly disturbed mainly after gamma sterilization, but degradation temperature did not change after sterilization. The performance of the CS‐HA hydrogel scaffolds for in vitro cell culture was tested using NIH3T3 and MG63 cell lines. The Alamar Blue test showed a significant increase in cellular viability and high CD44 expression, suggesting that the cells migrated more when seeded onto the scaffolds. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 104B: 1691–1702, 2016.