Fabrication of Gelatin/Chitosan Microspheres with Different Morphologies and Study on Biological Properties

Gelatin/Chitosan (Gel/Cs) microspheres were prepared by emulsion-coagulation method using glutaraldehyde as cross-linker. The influence of treatment methods, including removing water by different concentration of acetone/water solution and freeze-drying, on surface morphology was investigated, and the biological properties, such as cell cytotoxicity and hemolytic test, were also studied. The experimental results indicated that collapsed and aggregative, wrinkled and smooth Gel/Cs microspheres was obtained when treated by pure acetone, acetone/water solution (volume ratio of 7:1) and acetone/water solution (volume ratio of 3:1), respectively. The microspheres with porous structure were prepared when the obtained smooth Gel/Cs microspheres were treated by freeze-drying method. The cytotoxicity test result demonstrated that no significant cytotoxicity of the Gel/Cs microspheres against L929 mouse fibroblasts was observed. The hemolytic test suggested that the Gel/Cs microspheres, with a hemolytic index of 1.03%, did not have an obvious hemolytic reaction.