Performance of chitosan-collagen blend membrane as cornea tissue engineering scaffold

Chitosan-collagen blend membranes used as cornea tissue engineering scaffold were prepared and the optical performance, mechanical strength, crystallization degree, water absorption, hydrophilicity, micro-morphology and cell affinity of the scaffold were tested. The results demonstrate that the chitosan and the collagen in the scaffold which strongly interact with each other are miscible, and that the scaffold is of a smooth and uniform surface and a layer-ordered interior structure. The blend membrane has excellent optical transmittance and moderate wet mechanical properties. The culture of human cornea epidermal cells on the chitosan-collagen blend membrane shows that the cells can adhere well and proliferate onto the membrane suggesting that the chitosan-collagen blend membrane has good cell affinity. The results show that chitosan-collagen blend membrane is a promising candidate material in cornea tissue engineering.