Prepared from 15.3% N-acetylated chitosan (FNC), half N-acetylated chitosan (HNC) possesses a good solubility in a weak basic solution, guaranteeing the formation of microcapsules by the coacervating reaction between HNC and methacrylic acid (MAA)-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA)-methyl methacrylate (MMA) (MAA-HEMA-MMA) terpolymer under physiological conditions. When hepatocytes were encapsulated in such 3-dimensional microenvironment, as compared to monolayer culture, cell functions, including P450 activity, urea production and albumin release, were well supported. The prepared microcapsules have good mechanical stability and permeability.
Animals ; Capsules ; Cell Culture Techniques ; methods ; Cells, Cultured ; Chitosan ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Hepatocytes ; cytology ; drug effects ; Male ; Methacrylates ; Methylmethacrylate ; Polymers ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Tissue Engineering ; methods