We report on a successful scaffold based tissue engineering approach that aims to facilitate maximal cell seeding efficiency and subsequent cell proliferation using durable scaffolds with interconnected porosity with high surface area per volume and enhanced mechanical strength, durability. Among the biopolymers chitosan, which is a biodegradable, biocompatible cationic polysaccharide exerting bioactive properties (eg.antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, hemostatic immunostimulatory etc) provides several advantageous as tissue engineering scaffold. Previously we have shown antimicrobial activity of nanocomposite films of chitosan and silver nanowires (Doganay, 2017). In this study, silver nanowire/chitosan nanocomposite scaffolds were prepared via freeze-drying method and their durability were enhanced with αβ-glycerophosphate. Morphology and chemical nature of the nanocomposites were characterized by X-ray Diffraction Spectroscopy (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). Mechanical strength, compression modulus, bioadhesion, porosity and water holding capacity of nanocomposite scaffolds were investigated. The scaffolds were observed to retain 35 to 65-fold water while maintaining their form and integrity. The nanocomposite scaffolds showed equilibrium swelling index compared to chitosan scaffold. Further mechanical analysis demonstrated that the incorporation of αβ-glycerophosphate enhanced the elastic modulus and tensile strength values of prepared scaffolds. These and other results obtained in this work revealed that the nanocomposite scaffolds can be mechanically and biofunctionally improved through tailoring the chitosan/glycerophosphate ratio and the amount of incorporated silver nanowires
