Effects of γ-irradiation and EDC/NHS modification on property of collagen-chitosan scaffolds

With chitosan mass fraction changing from 0% to 50% by 5%, relative to collagen mass, the collagen-chitosan scaffolds were crosslinked by γ-irradiation and EDC/NHS. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and SEM were applied to analyze the structure. Water absorption rate, porosity, collagenase degradation and mechanical property were used to detect the properties. The effects of γ-irradiation and EDC/NHS modification on the properties of scaffolds were studied. The results show that both γ-irradiation and EDC/NHS modification induce crosslinking in collagen-chitosan scaffolds and chitosan greatly reduce the damage to molecular structure caused by γ-irradiation.The microstructure crosslinked by γ-irradiation is worse than those crosslinked by EDC/NHS. The optimal chitosan mass fraction is 25% for both γ-irradiation and EDC/NHS. γ-irradiation and EDC/NHS scaffold modification can lead to orientation structure.