Effect of incorporation of star‐shaped polycaprolactone on structure‐properties relationship of chitosan‐based networks via urethane/urea linkage

Abstract

A chitosan‐based network was fabricated using hexamethylene diisocyanate as a crosslinking agent. The effect was investigated of incorporating star‐shaped polycaprolactone (stPCL) into chitosan‐based networks (CS/stPCL), where the stPCL content varied from 10 to 50 wt%. Quantitative analyses of the urethane/urea linkages and of the stPCL content in the networks were determined based on curve fitting and Soxhlet extraction, respectively. The optimum weight ratio was 80:20 for CS and stPCL (80CS20stPCL), with the highest urethane/urea linkages and stPCL content in the network (30.73%). The compressive testing and rheological analysis indicated that incorporating stPCL enhanced the compressive strength and rheological properties of the chitosan‐based network. In addition, the 3‐(4,5‐dimethylthiazol‐2‐yl)‐2,5‐diphenyl‐2H‐tetrazolium bromide assay of the CS/stPCL network had a cell viability percentage greater than 70%. The CS/stPCL network promoted the formation of an apatite layer on the surface, indicating that the CS/stPCL network could be a promising candidate for tissue engineering.