Issue 5, 2012
From the journal:

Green Chemistry

The use of ionic liquids in the processing of chitosan/silk hydrogels for biomedical applications

Simone S. Silva,*ab   Tírcia C. Santos,ab   Mariana T. Cerqueira,ab   Alexandra P. Marques,ab   Lara L. Reys,ab   Tiago H. Silva,ab   Sofia G. Caridade,ab   João F. Manoab  and  Rui L. Reisab  

* Corresponding authors

a 3B́s Research Group, Biomaterials, Biodegradables and Biomimetics, University of Minho, Headquarters of the European Institute of Excellence on Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, AvePark, 4806-909 Guimarães, Portugal
E-mail: simonesilva@dep.uminho.pt
Fax: +351 253510909
Tel: +351 253510900

b ICVS/3B's – PT Government Associate Laboratory, Braga/Guimarães, Portugal

Abstract

Natural polymers are adequate renewable resources for the processability of well-defined architectures for several applications. Combinations of polysaccharides and proteins may mimic the naturally occurring environment of certain tissues. The main goal of this work renders the application of green chemistry principles, namely the use of ionic liquids (ILs) and biorenewable sources, such as chitosan (CHT) and silk fibroin (SF), to process new hydrogel-based constructs. Although the solubilization of both materials in ILs has been studied individually, this work reports, for the first time, the role of ILs as solvent, for the production of hydrogels from blends of chitosan and silk fibroin (CSF). These systems offer the advantage of being homogeneous and presenting easy and short dissolution time of both biomacromolecules. Moreover, the use of chitosan obtained from α- and β-chitin allowed the production of blended hydrogels with distinct physical–chemical properties. In vitro assays demonstrated that these hydrogels supported the adhesion and growth of primary human dermal fibroblasts. Taken these properties together, the CSF hydrogels might be promising biomaterials to be explored for skin tissue engineering approaches.

Graphical abstract: The use of ionic liquids in the processing of chitosan/silk hydrogels for biomedical applications

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Article information

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1039/C2GC16535J
Article type
Paper
Submitted
01 Dec 2011
Accepted
12 Mar 2012
First published
27 Mar 2012

Green Chem., 2012,14, 1463-1470

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The use of ionic liquids in the processing of chitosan/silk hydrogels for biomedical applications

S. S. Silva, T. C. Santos, M. T. Cerqueira, A. P. Marques, L. L. Reys, T. H. Silva, S. G. Caridade, J. F. Mano and R. L. Reis, Green Chem., 2012, 14, 1463 DOI: 10.1039/C2GC16535J

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