Gelatin porous scaffolds fabricated using a modified gas foaming technique: Characterisation and cytotoxicity assessment

• A simple method is described for preparation of porous gelatin scaffolds.
• The scaffolds were crosslinked using a range of glutaraldehyde concentrations.
• The scaffolds were tested using physical, mechanical, and biological methods.
• The scaffolds showed porous structure with interconnected porous systems.

The current study presents an effective and simple strategy to obtain stable porous scaffolds from gelatin via a gas foaming method. The technique exploits the intrinsic foaming ability of gelatin in the presence of CO2 to obtain a porous structure stabilised with glutaraldehyde. The produced scaffolds were characterised using physical and mechanical characterisation methods. The results showed that gas foaming may allow the tailoring of the 3-dimensional structure of the scaffolds with an interconnected porous structure. To assess the effectiveness of the preparation method in mitigating the potential cytotoxicity risk of using glutaraldehyde as a crosslinker, direct and in-direct cytotoxicity assays were performed at different concentrations of glutaraldehyde. The results indicate the potential of the gas foaming method, in the preparation of viable tissue engineering scaffolds.