Studies on chitosan graphene oxide Based hybrid scaffolds for tissue Engineering applications

Abstract

In recent years, the demand for organ transplantation and tissue newlineregeneration has increased worldwide. Presently, surgeons mainly depend on newlineorgan donors, metal implants and bioprosthetics for the replacement of skin, bone newlineand heart valves. However, these approaches have many drawbacks due to the newlinelack of tissue donor, tissue rejection, corrosion and failure of the metal implants. newlineMoreover, removal of the surgical implants after the tissue regeneration can also newlinepose many complications such as infection at the site of implant, discomfort for newlinethe patient and soft tissue damage. To overcome these limitations, at present newlinemuch attention has been given to tissue engineering, which aims to repair, restore newlineand regenerate the damaged tissues or organs by employing the biocompatible newlinematerials and techniques. Tissue engineering mainly focuses on the fabrication of newlinescaffolds, which can afford the optimal microenvironment for the successful newlinerejuvenation of organs and tissues. newlineA material to be considered for the fabrication of scaffolds should be newlinebiocompatible, biodegradable and non-toxic. Moreover, the material should newlinepossess the ability to augment the cell attachment, cell differentiation and mimic newlinethe microenvironment of the cells. Hence, different types of biocompatible newlinepolymers have been extensively considered for the construction of scaffolds. newlineAmong these polymers, chitosan, which is derived from chitin by the partial newlinealkaline deacetylation, has received much importance for the development of newlinescaffolds due to its biocompatibility, biodegradability, hemostatic capacity, newlineantimicrobial and non-immunogenic activities. However, the potential application newlineof chitosan as a tissue engineering scaffold is still limited due to its brittleness, newlineinsolubility at neutral pH, poor load-bearing ability, less structural integrity, newlineinadequate cell adhesion, cell proliferation, swelling and water retention abilities. newlineTo overcome these drawbacks, over the past few years, considerable efforts have newlinebeen taken. Among these, developing the hybr