Bioactive Scaffolds for Skin Tissue Engineering Doped with Gold Nanoparticles Prepared from Waste Biomass.

Skin is the first barrier against pathogens and harmful external factors. Each damage of this tissue may cause microbial infection and danger to internal organs. Burns which may be a result of the exposure to radiation, chemicals or high temperature leads to the significant disruption of skin functions. The most promising method for this tissue recovery is regenerative medicine which requires application of three-dimensional biocompatible scaffolds. The biomaterials enable skin cells proliferation and new tissue formation under in vitro conditions. They can be prepared from synthetic and natural polymers and their combination. The application of additional components such as nanoparticles may enhance their mechanical properties and have a positive impact on fibroblasts divisions and extra cellular formation. One of the most promising raw materials for scaffolds is chitosan -a chitin derivative. It may be obtained from waste biomass such as crabs, shrimps and lobsters exoskeletons. Chitosan is non-toxic, biodegradable and have antibacterial properties. The aim of the following study was to obtain novel chitosan derivatives doped with the gold nanoparticles using only natural components such as orange peels and fatty acid derivative. Proposed modification strategy resulted in the preparation of the novel, biodegradable and biocompatible material with interesting properties. The products were analysed by UV-Vis and FT-IR methods. The scaffolds were investigated over their susceptibility to enzymatic degradation. Finally, the biomaterials were verified over their cyto-compability with human dermal fibroblasts. The results showed that the proposed synthesis pathway resulted in the obtained of the chitosan biomaterials with high potential in medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]