Construction of alternate layered chitosan/alginate composite hydrogels and their properties

Novel tubular and spherical alternate layered chitosan/alginate composite hydrogels (CACH) with controllable shape, size and layer thickness were fabricated successfully through a multi-step alternate interrupted gelation process. The CACH exhibited good architectural stability and biocompatibility towards endothelial cells, showing great potential as cell culture carriers and matrix for the control release of molecules.