Multilayered Chitosan – Alginate Hollow tubes for cardiovascular tissue engineering

In this work we develop a method for the preparation of nanostructured hollow multilayered tubes combining layer-by-layer (LbL) technique and template leaching. The use of layer by layer techniques allows the production of nanometer-sized polymer films of particular interest for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine as they allow a precise control of physical and biological cues as well as the recreation of the natural complexity of ECM. Our aim was to produce hollow tubes for cardiovascular tissue engineering applications. Tubes of chitosan and alginate were prepared with or without crosslinking and their physic- chemical characterization was performed using different techniques. The permeability of the membranes towards glucose and oxygen was evaluated. We further evaluate the biological performance in terms of cell adhesion, viability and proliferation. The results suggested the potential of these structures to boost the development of innovative tubular structures for tissue engineering approaches.