Design and synthesis of novel polycaprolactone-chitosan based scaffolds using supercritical carbon dioxide

Supercritical fluid technology and supercritical carbon dioxide were used for the preparation of hybrid materials - scaffolds from PCL foams and chitosan aerogel beads. In a simple straightforward processing method, the advanced biomaterials for potential tissue engineering applications were fabricated, and loaded with indomethacin as a model drug. The obtained aerogels, foams, and scaffolds were evaluated through various characterization techniques: N2 adsorption -desorption analysis, TGA/DSC, microscope/SEM, and FTIR. The results revealed that the addition of mesoporous chitosan aerogels to the macroporous structure of PCL influenced the textural, morphological, and thermal properties of the initial foams. Unlike foams, the scaffolds showed a mesoporous structure, and, consequently, as the aerogels share in the formulation increased, larger specific surface areas. Scaffolds obtained under different conditions (40 degrees C/150 bar and 60 degrees C/200 bar) showed different swelling behavior and degradation. Lastly, the indomethacin showed distinct release profiles, depending on the formation and deposition conditions.