@article {17576, title = {Effect of crosslinking in chitosan/aloe vera-based membranes for biomedical applications}, journal = {Carbohydrate Polymers}, volume = {98}, year = {2013}, month = {2013-06-28 00:00:00}, pages = {581-588}, publisher = {Elsevier}, edition = {1}, abstract = {

The\  positive\  interaction\  between\  polysaccharides\  with\  active\  phytochemicals
found\  in\  medicinal\  plants\  may\  represent\  a\  strategy\  to\  create\  active\  wound
dressing\  materials\  useful\  for\  skin\  repair.\  In\  the\  present\  work,\  blended
membranes\  composed\  of\  chitosan\  (Cht)\  and\  Aloe\  vera\  gel\  were\  prepared
through the solvent casting, and were crosslinked with genipin to improve their
properties. Topography, swelling, wettability, mechanical properties and in vitro
cellular response of the membranes were investigated. With the incorporation of
aloe\  vera\  gel\  into\  chitosan\  solution,\  the\  developed\  chitosan/aloe-based
membranes\  displayed\  increased\  roughness\  and\  wettability;\  while\  the\  genipin
crosslinking\  promoted\  the\  formation\  of\  stiffer\  membranes\  in\  comparison\  to
those\  of\  the\  non-modified\  membranes.\  Moreover, in\  vitro cell\  culture\  studies
evidenced that the L929 cells have high cell viability, confirmed by MTS test and
calcein-AM staining. The findings suggested that both blend compositions and
crosslinking\  affected\  the\  physico-chemical\  properties\  and\  cellular\  behavior\  of
the developed membranes.

}, keywords = {Aloe vera, genipin, membranes}, doi = {10.1016/j.carbpol.2013.06.022}, url = {http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0144861713006188}, author = {Silva, S. S. and Caridade, S. G. and Mano, J. F. and Reis, R. L.} }