Homogeneous synthesis of amino‐reserved chitosan‐graft‐polycaprolactone in an ionic liquid and the application in cell cultivation

Abstract The homogeneous preparation of amino‐reserved chitosan‐ graft ‐polycaprolactone copolymer ( ACS ‐ g ‐ PCL ) was achieved in 1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium acetate via a protection − ring‐opening graft polymerization − deprotection procedure. The molar substitution of PCL ( MS PCL ) in ACS ‐ g ‐ PCL copolymers was in the range 17.1 − 45.6 and could be well controlled by altering reaction conditions. The resultant ACS ‐ g ‐ PCL copolymers were soluble in some common organic solvents such as dimethylsulfoxide, ethanol and toluene. As the increment of MS PCL increased, the hydrophilicity of the ACS ‐ g ‐ PCL copolymers decreased. Eventually, ACS ‐ g ‐ PCL microspheres with a diameter of 100–200 µm were fabricated by an emulsion evaporation method. Among them, the ACS ‐ g ‐ PCL copolymer with an MS PCL of 26.8 formed into porous microspheres. The fluorescence microscopy and cytotoxicity results suggested that all of the microspheres, especially the ACS ‐ g ‐ PCL microspheres with MS PCL of 17.1 and 26.8, showed high cell adhesion and cytocompatibility to the human osteosarcoma cell line ( MG ‐63), indicating their great prospects in tissue engineering. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry