Fabrication of UV-crosslinked chitosan scaffolds with conjugation of RGD peptides for bone tissue engineering

In this study, a simple process was established to fabricate RGD-conjugated and crosslinked chitosan scaffolds for bone tissue engineering. Two types of chitosan derivatives were synthesized: one containing photoreactive azido groups and the other tethered with RGD. Their mixture was fabricated into chitosan scaffolds by freeze-drying and UV crosslinking. The pore size and mechanical property of the chitosan scaffolds were increased by 1.36 and 2.41 folds, respectively, by the post-crosslinking process. Incorporation of RGD enhanced the culture of the rat primary osteoblasts. After 10 days of culture, the cell number in the RGD-contained chitosan scaffolds was increased by 50% compared to the control. Furthermore, the calcium deposition by the osteoblasts in the RGD-incorporated chitosan scaffolds was almost doubled compared to the control, and thus greatly increased the mechanical property of the chitosan scaffolds. Our technique is proved useful in preparing scaffolds for bone tissue engineering and other biomedical applications.