Poly(lactic acid)(PLA)/chitosan(CS) composite nanofibrous scaffolds were fabricated from a quaternary PLA/CS/dioxane/glacial acetic acid system by phase separation method. The effects of gelation temperature
CS content and the molecular weight of PLA on the morphology of composite scaffolds were investigated. The results revealed that gelation temperature and the molecular weight of PLA significantly influenced the formation of nanofibrous structure
but the CS content had very litter effect on the nanofibrous structure. The microstructure of the PLA/CS composite scaffolds changed greatly with the reduction of gelation temperature
from nano-structure to micro-structure. Besides
high molecular weight of PLA make for nanofibrous structure easier than the low molecular weight of PLA in this work. The mineralization results showed that PLA/CS composite nanofibrous scaffolds could induce hydroxyapatite formation faster than pure PLA nanofibrous scaffolds.