Enzyme-Crosslinked Electrospun Fibrous Gelatin Hydrogel for Potential Soft Tissue Engineering.

Kexin Nie,Shanshan Han,Xiaomeng Li,Qian Li,Qingqing Sun,Jianmin Yang,Xiaofeng Wang

doi:10.3390/polym12091977

Kexin Nie, Shanshan Han + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12091977

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Abstract

Soft tissue engineering has been seeking ways to mimic the natural extracellular microenvironment that allows cells to migrate and proliferate to regenerate new tissue. Therefore, the reconstruction of soft tissue requires a scaffold possessing the extracellular matrix (ECM)-mimicking fibrous structure and elastic property, which affect the cell functions and tissue regeneration. Herein, an effective method for fabricating nanofibrous hydrogel for soft tissue engineering is demonstrated using gelatin–hydroxyphenylpropionic acid (Gel–HPA) by electrospinning and enzymatic crosslinking. Gel–HPA fibrous hydrogel was prepared by crosslinking the electrospun fibers in ethanol-water solution with an optimized concentration of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) and H2O2. The prepared fibrous hydrogel held the soft and elastic mechanical property of hydrogels and the three-dimensional (3D) fibrous structure of electrospun fibers. It was proven that the hydrogel scaffolds were biocompatible, improving the cellular adhesion, spreading, and proliferation. Moreover, the fibrous hydrogel showed rapid biodegradability and promoted angiogenesis in vivo. Overall, this study represents a novel biomimetic approach to generate Gel–HPA fibrous hydrogel scaffolds which have excellent potential in soft tissue regeneration applications.

Highlights

Each year, millions of patients worldwide suffer from the loss of soft tissue involving skin, fat, and muscle, because of trauma, tumor excision, congenital malformation, and aging [1]
Among the various kinds of tissue engineering scaffolds, hydrogels have been intensively studied for soft tissue engineering applications owing to their inherent priorities such as their native 3D structure and elastic properties, which are similar to natural soft tissues [10,11,12]
gelatin–hydroxyphenylpropionic acid (Gel–HPA) fibrous hydrogel was prepared for the first time through electrospinning and the horseradish peroxidase (HRP)

Summary

Introduction

Millions of patients worldwide suffer from the loss of soft tissue involving skin, fat, and muscle, because of trauma, tumor excision, congenital malformation, and aging [1]. The repair and regeneration of soft tissue is a ubiquitous clinical problem due to the clinical and material limitations [2]. Even if the synthetic tissue scaffolds have been appropriately implanted, the functionality lost and the reduced graft survival remain challenges [5]. Polymers 2020, 12, 1977 numerous materials with ECM mimicking biophysical and biochemical properties have been developed to address these limitations [6,7,8,9]. Rigid materials are not suitable for soft tissue regeneration and would cause a severe inflammatory response in vivo [13]. Hydrogels with good injectability and proper viscoelastic properties have already been successfully used for central nervous regeneration and intervertebral disc repair after hybrid additive-manufactured poly (ε-caprolactone) scaffolds [14,15]. The nanoscale network structure of these hydrogels may significantly affect cell activity and function, such as hindering cell spreading and migration [16,17]

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