Architectural Properties of Chitosan and Chitosan-RGD Scaffolds of Crab Shells Using SEM and Swelling Test

Abstract

Crab shell chitosan and chitosan-RGD membrane scaffolds have been developed by BATAN for tissue engineering in the oral cavity. However, the architectural properties of these scaffolds have not been analyzed. In this study, we analyzed the architectural properties of the chitosan and chitosan-RGD membrane scaffolds. Pore number, size, interpore distance, and porosity were tested by the SEM test, with analysis using ImageJ software. Water absorption was tested by the swelling test. The chitosan and chitosan-RGD scaffolds were found to have 225 and 237 pores, with pore sizes of 176.4 μm and 178.3 μm and porosity values of 12.8% and 12.9%, respectively. In addition, the interpore distances for the two scaffolds were found to be 94.7 μm and 93.3 μm, with water absorption values of 10.5 mg H2O/mg scaffold and 19.2 mg H2O/mg scaffold, respectively. Our findings indicate the crab-shell chitosan RGD membrane scaffolds possess better architectural properties compared with the standard chitosan scaffolds.