Hyaluronan may be used in tissue engineering as a scaffold, and since the scaffold should degrade after the cells have proliferated, and heat treatment is a method to achieve low molecular weight material. In this essay, we developed a new method to choose the characteristic heat treatment temperature, and applied a simple method to prepare the hyaluronan scaffold. We have acquired the TG and DTA curves of hyaluronan by thermal analysis, according to which we selected 310 ℃,375 ℃ and 500 ℃ as the heat treatment points. After heat treatment, test the infrared spectrum of the powder respectively. In conclusion, the scaffold formed by lyophilization exhibits a porous structure, and the occurrence of new groups after heating assumes the change of the molecular chain.
Hyaluronic acid (HA) was chemically modified by polyethylene glycol. Meanwhile, the dynamic mechanics properties of HA derivative and its viscoelastic changes were measured on 3ARES3 Rheometer (Japan) at 25 ℃. Dried cross-linked films of 10×10 mm2 were immersed in phosphate buffered saline(PBS: pH 7.4) at 37 ℃ with different time periods to measure its water content and in vitro degradation. Moreover, cell cultured solutions, which were in the different culti-vation vesse with 1 mg/mL Solution of HA derivative as doing experimental sample for 2 d, 4 d and 7 d, were observed, respectively, by an inverted discrepancy microscope. The cell relative growth rate was analyzed with the SPSS10.0 mathematic statistic software. Based on the above experiments, structure-modified HA derivative can meet the requirements of biomaterials in view of rheological and degradation in vitro and cytotoxicity charactereistics from clinical medical aspect under this experi-ment conditions.
Characteristic and dynamic viscosities of Hyaluronic acid (HA) derivative modified by polyethylene glycol (PEG) were tested with different reaction times (6 h,12 h,18 h and 24 h), different molar ratio of HA/PEG (1/10,1/5,1/3 and 1/2), different molecular weight of PEG(400,6 000 and 20 000) and mass fraction is 0.4% by Wushi Viscosimeter and L-90 Rheometer at 25 ℃. Characteristic viscosity of HA derivative had the largest value in 12 h, which decreased with increasing of PEG molecular weight, but its aqueous dynamic viscosity increased with increment of PEG molecular weight. Meanwhile, we tested dynamic mechanic properties of HA derivative by 3ARES3 Rheometer at 25 ℃ to study viscoelastic changes and to compare change difference from viscosity to elasticity with the changes of vibration frequency between unmodified HA and HA derivative. Change from low vibrated frequency to high one of solution resulted in change from viscosity to elasticity of solution. In conclusion, as to the rheological properties, structure-modified HA derivative meets the requirement of biomaterial.
