Effects of Chitin Nanocrystal on Solution Behavior and Gelation of Chitosan/β-Glycerophosphate Thermosensitive Hydrogel

The chitosan/β-glycerophosphate( CS/β-GP),a physical hydrogel system with thermosensitive and injectable features combined with biocompatibility and biodegradability, has great potentials as matrices for drug or cell encapsulation and delivery,or as in situ gel-forming materials for tissue repair. Here,the chitin nanocrystal( Chi NC) was introduced into the aforementioned system, and its effects on solution behavior and mechanical properties was investigated. The results showed the incorporation of Chi NC complicated sol-to-gel transition process; a higher loading ratio( 20%) speeded up sol-to-gel transition rate,reduced the solto-gel transition temperature,while still maintained shear-thinning behavior or injectable feature. Moreover,the mechanical properties of gels were significantly enhanced by Chi NC, accompanied by decreased water uptake. The above mentioned behavior favored better applications as injectable tissue-repair implants.

ALP Induction by β－glycerophosphate during the Nonmineralization Phase In Vitro

β-GP influences on rat osteoblast development at the early period of culture i.e , the non-mineralization phase, and changes with the different cell passages were investigated. Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) was chosen as a main object. Northern blot analysis revealed up to two-fold increase in the steady statelevel of ALP mRNA after stimulation of rat osteoblast with 10 mM β-GP- Likewise, 10 mM β-GP induced a 10─30 % increase in ALP activity (P< 0. 01) of early passages (1 to 4), but not of later passages (5 to 6). The β-GP induced increase in ALP activity was totally inhibited by the protein synthesis inhibitor, cycloheximide (50 μM).β- GP stimulation was found to be without effect on cell proliferation measured as 3H-thymidine incorporation. It is concluded that β-GP has no effect on proliferation but induces an increase in both mRNA level and activity of ALP in the non-mineralization phase of cultures of fetal rat calvarial cells , which lasts for several passages but will disappear in older cultures.

Design and evaluation of chitosan-amino acid thermosensitive hydrogel

Chitosan/glycerophosphate thermosensitive hydrogel crosslinked physically was a potential drug delivery carrier;however, long gelation time limits its application. Here, chitosan-amino acid (AA) thermosensitive hydrogels were prepared from chitosan (CS), αβ-glycerophosphate (GP), and L-lysine (Lys) or L-glutamic acid (Glu). The prepared CS-Lys/GP and CS-Glu/GP hydrogel showed good thermosensitivity and could form gels in a short time. The optimal parameters of CS-Lys/GP hydrogel were that the concentration of CS-Lys was 2.5%, the ratio of CS/Lys was 3.5/1.0, the ratio of CS-Lys/GP was 4.5/1.0. The optimal parameters of CS-Glu/GP hydrogel were that the concentration of CS-Glu was 3.0%, the ratio of CS/Glu was 2.0/1.0, and the ratio of CS-Glu/GP was 4.0/1.5. Chitosan-amino acid (CS-AA) thermosensitive hydrogel had a three-dimensional network structure. The addition of model drug tinidazole (TNZ) had no obvious effect on the structure of hydrogel. The results of infrared spectroscopy showed that there were hydrogen bonds between amino acids and chitosan. In vitro release results showed that CS-Lys/GP and CS-Glu/GP thermosensitive hydrogels had sustained release effects. Thus, the chitosan-amino acid thermosensitive hydrogels hold great potential as a sustained release drug delivery system.