Research on the degradation performance of the lotus nanofibers-alginate porous materials

Controllable degradation of natural biomaterials for tissue engineering is a big issue that has to be solved. In this paper, sodium alginate was aldehyde-modified and the product (oxidized sodium alginate) was degraded in vitro. Then, oxidized sodium alginate was cross-linked with calcium chloride and its degradation performance was studied. Results showed that the degradation rates of porous materials increased while pH values of degradation liquid decreased, which was proportional to the degree of oxidation. Lotus fibers were carboxyl-modified with TEMPO/NaClO/NaBr system and then lotus nano-fibers were obtained. It is found that the degradation rates of the oxidized sodium alginate porous materials which were added lotus nanofibers were slow. Thus, the blending porous materials are expected to be used in medical fields. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.