Fabrication and characterization of stimuli responsive scaffold/bio-membrane using novel carrageenan biopolymer for biomedical applications

Bio-membrane/scaffold plays a vital role in tissue regeneration in medical field, especially in periodontal applications. Biopolymers such as alginate, gelatin, chitosan, and collagen are widely used in biomedical applications. A combination of carrageenan and PVA is used in this study and its physical and mechanical properties were tested. In this study, carrageenan biopolymer along with poly (vinyl) alcohol with (3-aminopropyl) triethoxysilane (APTES) cross-linker was used to fabricate scaffold/bio-membrane. The bio-membrane was tested for its physical, mechanical and thermal properties such as swelling analysis, contact angle, FTIR, tensile strain and stress, TG-DSC, SEM. The bio-membrane strength (89.21 MPa) was found much higher than commercial membrane. The surface of the membrane is smooth and it favors cell adhesion and proliferation. This study established that cross-linked carrageenan biopolymer with PVA using APTES with improved mechanical strength can be applied as scaffold material for dental and other medical applications.