Green Biocompatible Method for the Synthesis of Collagen/Chitin Composites to Study Their Composition and Assembly Influence on Fibroblasts Growth

A green biocompatible route for the deposition and simultaneous assembly, by pH increment, of collagen/chitin composites was proposed. Both assembled and unassembled samples with different collagen/chitin ratios were synthesized, maintaining the β-chitin polymorph. The first set showed a microfibrous organization with compositional submicron homogeneity. The second set presented a nanohomogeneous composition based on collagen nanoaggregates and chitin nanofibrils. The sets were tested as scaffolds for fibroblast growth (NIH-3T3) to study the influence of composition and assembly. In the unassembled scaffolds, the positive influence of collagen on cell growth mostly worn out in 48 h, while the addition of chitin enhanced this effect for over 72 h. The assembled samples showed higher viability at 24 h but a less positive effect on viability along the time. This work highlighted critical aspects of the influence that composition and assembly has on fibroblast growth, a knowledge worth exploiting in scaffold design and preparation.