Microstructure and Thermal Property of Designed Alginate-Based Polymeric Composite Foam Materials Containing Biomimetic Decellularized Elastic Cartilage Microscaffolds

This study presents a designed alginate-based polymeric composite foam material containing decellularized elastic cartilage microscaffolds from porcine elastic cartilage by using supercritical fluid and papain treatment for medical scaffold biomaterials. The microstructure and thermal property of the designed alginate-based polymeric composite foam materials with various controlled ratios of alginate molecules and decellularized elastic cartilage microscaffolds were studied and characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and differential thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA/DTG). The microstructure and thermal property of the composite foam materials were affected by the introduction of decellularized elastic cartilage microscaffolds. The designed alginate-based polymeric composite foam materials containing decellularized elastic cartilage microscaffolds were ionically cross-linked with calcium ions by soaking the polymeric composite foam materials in a solution of calcium chloride. Additional calcium ions further improved the microstructure and thermal stability of the resulting ionic cross-linked alginate-based polymeric composite foam materials. Furthermore, the effect of crosslinking functionality on microstructures and thermal properties of the resulting polymeric composite foam materials were studied to build up useful information for 3D substrates for cultivating and growing cartilage cells and/or cartilage tissue engineering.