Fabrication of modified dextran-gelatin in situ forming hydrogel and application in cartilage tissue engineering

• Published in: Journal of materials chemistry. B, Materials for biology and medicine Vol. 2; no. 47; pp. 8346 - 836
• Main Authors: Pan, Jian-feng, Yuan, Liu, Guo, Chang-an, Geng, Xiao-hua, Fei, Teng, Fan, Wen-shuai, Li, Shuo, Yuan, Heng-feng, Yan, Zuo-qin, Mo, Xiu-mei
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 21.12.2014
• ISSN: 2050-750X; 2050-7518
• DOI: 10.1039/c4tb01221f

Hydrogels play a very important role in cartilage tissue engineering. Here, we oxidized dextran (Odex) and modified gelatin (Mgel) to fabricate a fast forming hydrogel without the addition of a chemical crosslinking agent. The dynamic gelling process was measured through rheological measurements. The microstructure was examined by lyophilizing to get porous scaffolds. Biological assessment was performed through CCK-8 assays by using synovium-derived mesenchymal cells (SMSCs) at 1, 3, 7 and 14 days. In vivo evaluation for application in cartilage tissue engineering was performed 8 weeks after subcutaneous injection of SMSC-loaded Odex/Mgel hydrogels combined with TGF-β3 in the dorsa of nude mice. According to the results, a fast forming hydrogel was obtained by simply modifying dextran and gelatin. Moreover, the Odex/Mgel hydrogel exhibited good biocompatibility in cultures of SMSCs and a homogeneous distribution of live cells was achieved inside the hydrogels. After 8 weeks, newly formed cartilage was achieved in the dorsa of nude mice; no inflammatory reaction was observed and high production of GAGs was shown. The method provides a strategy for the design and fabrication of fast in situ forming hydrogels. The Odex/Mgel hydrogel could be used for the regeneration of cartilage in tissue engineering. Hydrogels play a very important role in cartilage tissue engineering.