GOMES, Y. V. R.; http://lattes.cnpq.br/6949855309921257; GOMES, Ylka Virginia Ribeiro.
Résumé:
Human skin, which corresponds to about 15% of the body weight, is an organ that
covers and delimits the body, protecting it and interacting with the outside
environment. Characteristically dynamic, the skin presents constant changes and it is
endowed with a great capacity for repair. The skin has got thermoregulation and
sensory functions, also, it is responsible for the production and excretion of
metabolites and defense against physical, chemical and biological harm. In many
situations, there may be loss of architecture and/or function of this tissue by
infectious, inflammatory or neoplastic processes, or trauma. However, in some of
these situations, conventional therapies are not enough to solve the problem and,
thus, more advanced techniques have to be employed, as tissue engineering, which
uses cells that may be or not associated with an extracellular matrix known as
scaffold. The aim of this study was to develop and characterize scaffolds composed
of chitosan, by using the freeze-drying technique, to be applied in tissue engineering.
The scaffolds were produced at three concentrations (1.5% - 2% - 3%) using
chitosan of low molecular weight and medium molecular weight. Then, the scaffolds
were characterized by optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy
(SEM), Infrared Spectroscopy with Fourier Transform (FTIR), x-ray diffraction (XRD)
and testing of the degree of swelling. The morphological studies by MO and SEM
showed the formation of a three-dimensional scaffold architecture with pores
influenced by the concentration of the solution. The FTIR identified all characteristic
bands of chitosan independent of concentration. The XRD showed that the
lyophilization process reduced the crystallinity of the material and Gl tests showed a
high swelling capacity in all scaffold samples tested.