Photopolymerized water-soluble maleilated chitosan/methacrylated poly (vinyl alcohol) hydrogels as potential tissue engineering scaffolds

Photocrosslinkable water-soluble maleilated chitosan and methacrylated poly (vinyl alcohol) were synthesized and therefore maleilated chitosan/methacrylated poly (vinyl alcohol) (MCS/MPVA) hydrogels were prepared under UV radiation. Series of properties of the hydrogels including rheological property, swelling behavior, morphology and mechanical test were investigated. The main results showed that the MCS/MPVA hydrogels had fast gel-forming rate (complete transformation to gel within 150 s), improved compressive strength at 0.169 ± 0.011 MPa and rapid absorbent capacity. These behaviors could be tunable via the control of weight ratio of MCS to MPVA. The indirect cytotoxicity assessments demonstrated the photocrosslinked hydrogels was compatible to mouse fibroblasts (L929 cells), indicating their potential as tissue engineering scaffolds.