Structural, mechanical, and cytocompatibility characteristics of hybrid scaffolds from chitosan/decellularized testicular ECM.

Tissue engineering has facilitated the development of novel therapeutic strategies for male reproductive disorders. Decellularized extracellular matrix (ECM) scaffolds provide a wide range of functional components that promote cellular behavior. This research aimed to develop reinforced scaffolds for testicular tissue engineering by combining testicular ECM (TE) derived pre-gel with chitosan (CS) solution at varying ratios (TE25/CS75, TE50/CS50, and TE75/CS25). To determine the optimum ratio of TE to CS solution, final scaffold properties were investigated including pore size, porosity, mechanical strength, swelling ratio, degradation rate followed by in-vitro biological evaluations. All groups revealed an interconnected porous structure with high porosity (from 76.6 % to 90.9 %) and adequate pore sizes (between 50 and 226 μm), while the pores of TE50/CS50 scaffold were distributed more uniformly. The mechanical properties of scaffolds were enhanced by combining CS with TE, whereas their swelling ratio decreased. It was observed that the scaffolds' degradation rate rose substantially as the ratio of TE to CS increased. The MTT assay revealed that none of the scaffolds exhibited cytotoxic properties. The results of this study demonstrated that all fabricated hybrid scaffolds, especially the TE50/CS50, have potential for testicular tissue engineering applications.