Fig. 5. Chitosan-based hydrogels for neural tissue engineering. (A) Schematic of synthesis of methacrylated chitosan. Methacrylated chitosan (0.5 to 2% w/w) hydrogels were crosslinked in the presence of cells by photoinitiated free radical polymerization (Irgacure photoinitiator with 365 nm light). (B) E-18 rat cortical neurons were immobilized within chitosan and agarose (Seaprep®) hydrogels for investigating neuronal survival and differentiation. The cells clumped into groups and displayed extensive neurite outgrowth in chitosan hydrogels (left), as compared to agarose hydrogels (right), indicating enhanced neuron function within the chitosan matrices (scale bar, 50 μm). (C) Neurite outgrowth quantification (p < 0.05). Reprinted from Valmikinathan et al. 88 with permission from The Royal Society of Chemistry. Copyright (2012).
