Interpenetrating Polymer Network (IPN) of hyaluronic acid and sodium alginate for cartilage tissue engineering

摘要

Novel biodegradable porous scaffold was prepared from naturally derived hyaluronic acid and alginate polymers with significantly improved mechanical and biological properties as compared to its hyaluronic acid counterpart. Enhanced mechanical properties were attributable to the formation of an interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) structure of hyaluronic acid and alginate. Rabbit chondrocytes readily attached to the hyaluronic acid/sodium alginate (HA/SA) scaffold, and maintained a chondrocyte-specific phenotype.