Chitosan-based wet-spun scaffolds for bioactive agent delivery

Use of scaffolds both as supporting materials at defect site and delivery vehicles for bioactive agents is a commonly employed strategy to aid in tissue repair and regeneration. In this study, fibrous meshes of chitosan were prepared by wet spinning and coated with alginate. BSA as a model protein and gentamicin as a model antibiotic were incorporated into the scaffolds in multiple loading models and their release kinetics were studied. The effects of structural form of scaffold and properties of bioactive agents on release profiles were evaluated. Our results suggest that, designed scaffolds are potential candidates for tissue engineering with the feature of controlled bioactive agent delivery. (c) 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 130: 3759-3769, 2013