Biocompatible Hydrogels Based on Food Gums with Tunable Physicochemical Properties as Scaffolds for Cell Culture

• Published in: Journal of agricultural and food chemistry Vol. 68; no. 12; pp. 3770 - 3778
• Main Authors: Qi, Xiaoliang, Zhang, Mengying, Su, Ting, Pan, Wenhao, Tong, Xianqin, Zeng, Qiankun, Xiong, Wei, Jiang, Ning, Qian, Yuna, Li, Zhipeng, He, Xiaojun, Shen, Liangliang, Zhou, Zaigang, Shen, Jianliang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Chemical Society 25.03.2020
• Subjects: Animals; beta-Glucans - chemistry; Biocompatible Materials - chemistry; Cell Culture Techniques; Cell Line; Cell Proliferation; Cell Survival; Food Additives - chemistry; Hydrogels - chemistry; Materials Testing; Mice; Tissue Engineering; Tissue Scaffolds - chemistry; curdlan; food gums; polysaccharide; composite hydrogel; salecan
• ISSN: 0021-8561; 1520-5118
• DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.9b06120

Hydrogels composed of food gums have gained attention for future biomedical applications, such as targeted delivery and tissue engineering. For their translation to clinical utilization, reliable biocompatibility, sufficient mechanical performance, and tunable structure of polysaccharide hydrogels are required aspects. In this work, we report a unique hybrid polysaccharide hydrogel composed of salecan and curdlan, in which the former is a thickening agent and the latter serves as a network matrix. The physicochemical properties, such as mechanical strength, thermal stability, swelling, and morphology, of the developed composite hydrogel can be accurately modulated by varying the polysaccharide content. Importantly, cytotoxicity assays show the non-toxicity of this hybrid hydrogel. Furthermore, this hydrogel system can support cell proliferation, migration, and function. Altogether, our work proposes a new strategy to build a polysaccharide-constructed hydrogel scaffold, which holds much promise for tissue engineering in terms of cell engraftment, survival, proliferation, and function.