An Injectable Enzymatically Crosslinked Carboxymethylated Pullulan/Chondroitin Sulfate Hydrogel for Cartilage Tissue Engineering

• Published in: Scientific reports 2016-01, Vol.6 (1), p.20014-20014, Article 20014
• Main Authors: Chen, Feng, Yu, Songrui, Liu, Bing, Ni, Yunzhou, Yu, Chunyang, Su, Yue, Zhu, Xinyuan, Yu, Xiaowei, Zhou, Yongfeng, Yan, Deyue
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 13/51; 639/638/298/54/990; Animals; Biocompatible Materials; Biodegradability; Biodegradation; Biomaterials; Cartilage; Cartilage - physiology; Cell proliferation; Chondrocytes; Chondrocytes - metabolism; Chondrogenesis; Chondroitin sulfate; Chondroitin Sulfates - chemistry; Extracellular matrix; Glucans - chemistry; Horseradish peroxidase; Humanities and Social Sciences; Hydrogel, Polyethylene Glycol Dimethacrylate - chemical synthesis; Hydrogel, Polyethylene Glycol Dimethacrylate - chemistry; Hydrogels; Hydrogen peroxide; multidisciplinary; Peroxidase; Physicochemical properties; Polymers; Pullulan; Reagents; Regeneration; Regenerative medicine; Science; Sulfates; Tissue Engineering; Tissue Scaffolds; Tyramine
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/srep20014

In this study, an enzymatically cross-linked injectable and biodegradable hydrogel system comprising carboxymethyl pullulan-tyramine (CMP-TA) and chondroitin sulfate-tyramine (CS-TA) conjugates was successfully developed under physiological conditions in the presence of both horseradish peroxidase (HRP) and hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) for cartilage tissue engineering (CTTE). The HRP crosslinking method makes this injectable system feasible, minimally invasive and easily translatable for regenerative medicine applications. The physicochemical properties of the mechanically stable hydrogel system can be modulated by varying the weight ratio and concentration of polymer as well as the concentrations of crosslinking reagents. Additionally, the cellular behaviour of porcine auricular chondrocytes encapsulated into CMP-TA/CS-TA hydrogels demonstrates that the hydrogel system has a good cyto-compatibility. Specifically, compared to the CMP-TA hydrogel, these CMP-TA/CS-TA composite hydrogels have enhanced cell proliferation and increased cartilaginous ECM deposition, which significantly facilitate chondrogenesis. Furthermore, histological analysis indicates that the hydrogel system exhibits acceptable tissue compatibility by using a mouse subcutaneous implantation model. Overall, the novel injectable pullulan/chondroitin sulfate composite hydrogels presented here are expected to be useful biomaterial scaffold for regenerating cartilage tissue.