Freeze-drying method is extensively used to produce porous materials in tissue engineering because of its versatility and use of non-toxic solvents. However, it has some significant drawbacks in terms of microstructure non-uniformity. To achieve a tissue-engineered skin scaffold with a desirable microstructure, we modified the freeze-drying technique by regulating heat transfer and control of the cooling rate during the freezing step. It could create a homogeneous porous structure with more equiaxed non-oriented pores. The efficiency of tissue engineering scaffold rests upon a few essential features such as suitable microstructure, controlled biodegradability, and adequate mechanical strength. In this work, we investigated the mechanical and degradation properties along with cell attachment and proliferation of the modified gelatin/chitosan scaffolds. Improved mechanical characteristics were found when a modified freeze-drying technique was applied for scaffold fabrication. Moreover, uniform microstructure with polygonal pores provided more resistance against the degradation by enzyme molecules. Enhanced interconnectivity between the pores of scaffolds, due to the usage of the aluminum mold, resulted a more flexible structure with higher biodegradation rate. MTT assay on the gelatin/chitosan scaffolds also confirmed higher cell proliferation for the aluminum over the PS mold.
