Effect of glutaraldehyde on the characteristics of chitosan–gelatin–β-tricalcium phosphate composite scaffolds

A composite scaffold was successfully fabricated using β-tricalcium phosphate (βTCP), which is extracted from limestone by first sintering and then reacting it with phosphoric acid through wet precipitation method. The resultant substance is then mixed with chitosan and gelatin. This novel method utilizes limestone, which is abundant in nature. This study optimizes the composite scaffold fabrication by using βTCP from limestone and evaluating the effect of glutaraldehyde on scaffold characteristics. The freeze-drying method was used to obtain a porous scaffold. The compressive strength of the cross-linked scaffolds (3.3 ± 0.3 MPa) was significantly higher than that of scaffolds without glutaraldehyde (1.7 ± 0.2 MPa). In contrast, the porosity of the cross-linked scaffolds was lower (85.8 ± 0.8 %) than the non-cross-linked scaffolds (89.1 ± 0.4 %). It is clear that the porosity had a considerable impact on the compressive strength, wherein lower porosity led to a higher compressive strength. In conclusion, glutaraldehyde is an effective cross-linker for the fabrication of chitosan–gelatin–βTCP composite scaffolds and significantly improves their compressive strength.