Tissue engineering has been used as an alternative in the reconstruction of hard and soft tissues. The objective of this work was to study the in vitro calcification of porcine skin aiming at obtaining a material to be used for regeneration of hard tissue. Pig skin was calcified at 37 °C, pH 7.4 and pH 9.0 and characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and X ray diffraction (XRD). The results obtained by DSC showed that calcified samples had a small increase in the values of denaturation temperature when compared with uncalcified samples. Thermogravimetric curves showed higher quantity of inorganic material for the pH 7.4 matrix when compared to samples obtained in pH 9.0. The formation of calcium phosphate salts on collagen fibers was seen by SEM, which was also confirmed by X ray diffratogram and FTIR.
Collagen; calcification; hydroxyapatite
