Issue 48, 2015

Physically crosslinked polyvinyl alcohol and gelatin interpenetrating polymer network theta-gels for cartilage regeneration

Abstract

Theta-gels are hydrogels that form during the solidification and phase separation of two dislike polymers, in which a low molecular weight polymer behaves as a porogen and is removed through dialysis. For this study, interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) hydrogels were formed between polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and gelatin using theta-gel fabrication techniques, i.e., in the presence of a porogen. The addition of gelatin to a PVA theta-gel, formed with a porogen, polyethylene glycol (PEG), created macro-porous hydrogels, and increased shear storage moduli and elastic moduli, compared to PVA–gelatin scaffold controls. A reduction in PVA crystallinity was verified by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy in hydrogels fabricated using a porogen, i.e., PVA–PEG–gelatin, compared to PVA, PVA–PEG, or PVA–gelatin hydrogels alone. Van Geison staining confirmed the retention of gelatin after dialysis. A range of hydrogel moduli was achieved by optimizing PVA concentration, molecular weight, and gelatin concentration. PVA–gelatin hydrogels maintained primary human mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) viability. Soft (∼10 kPa) and stiff (∼100 kPa) PVA–gelatin hydrogels containing type II collagen significantly increased glycosaminoglycan (GAG) production compared to controls. PVA–gelatin hydrogels, formed using theta-gel techniques, warrant further investigation as articular cartilage tissue engineering scaffolds.

Graphical abstract: Physically crosslinked polyvinyl alcohol and gelatin interpenetrating polymer network theta-gels for cartilage regeneration

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
22 ሜይ 2015
Accepted
05 ኖቬም 2015
First published
09 ኖቬም 2015

J. Mater. Chem. B, 2015,3, 9242-9249

Author version available

Physically crosslinked polyvinyl alcohol and gelatin interpenetrating polymer network theta-gels for cartilage regeneration

T. Miao, E. J. Miller, C. McKenzie and R. A. Oldinski, J. Mater. Chem. B, 2015, 3, 9242 DOI: 10.1039/C5TB00989H

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements