Evaluation of novel alginate dialdehyde cross-linked chitosan/calcium polyphosphate composite scaffolds for meniscus tissue engineering

Chitosan is a transformed deacetylated polysaccharide from chitin with a variety of applications in the biomedical field. However, chitosan scaffolds have poor mechanical properties. Calcium polyphosphate was added into the chitosan solution before cross-linking with alginate dialdehyde, in order to improve the properties of chitosan. With the increase of calcium polyphosphate, the compressive strength was improved and the degradation rate of composites decreased. The cytotoxicity of chitosan/calcium polyphosphate composite scaffolds was investigated by using meniscus cartilage cells. The adhesion and proliferation of meniscus cartilage cells were promoted by the novel composite scaffolds. All the results indicated that chitosan/calcium polyphosphate composite scaffold may be a potential candidate for meniscus tissue engineering.