Preparation and surface modification of high-density chitosan/functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes hollow fibers

Functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (f-MWNTs) were prepared with chitosan via controlled surface deposition and crosslinking process and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier translation infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) are used to character properties. A novel high-density chitosan (HCS) was dissolved in f-MWNTs dispersed dilute acetic acid with a maximal concentration of 5.8%. The hollow fibers can be made by extruding the solution into a dilute alkali solution through a wet-spinning process and the tensile properties of the materials were evaluated by universal tester. The surface property of fibers, pretreated by Helium (He) and the following grafted with gelatin was evaluated with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). As the hollow fibers were intended for neural tissue engineering, its suitability was evaluated in vitro using rat Schwann cells (RSC96) as model cells. The cells attachment, proliferation and morphology, were studied by various microscopic techniques. Based on the results, the gelatin grafted HCS/f-MWNTs hollow fibers could be used as a potential cell carrier in neural tissue engineering.