Abstract
The benefits of associating biological polymers with nanomaterials within functional bionanocomposite hydrogels have already been evidenced both in vitro and in vivo. However their development as effective biomaterials requires to understand and tune the interactions at the cell–protein–mineral ternary interface. With this purpose, we have studied here the impact of silica (nano)rods on the structural and rheological properties of type I collagen hydrogels and on the behavior of human dermal fibroblasts. High collagen concentrations were beneficial to the material mechanical properties, whereas silica rods could exert a positive effect on these at both low and high content. Electron microscopy evidenced strong bio–mineral interactions, emphasizing the true composite nature of these materials. In contrast, adhesion and proliferation studies showed that, despite these interactions, fibroblasts can discriminate between the protein and the inorganic phases and penetrate the collagen network to limit direct contact with silica. Such a divergence between physicochemical characteristics and biological responses has major implications for the prediction of the in vivo fate of nanocomposite biomaterials.
Highlights
Hydrogels prepared from natural biomolecules have a broad field of applications, including tissue engineering, drug delivery, and soft electronics [1,2,3,4]
It was possible to obtain a stable measurement of the zeta potential of prepared silica nanorods (SiNRs) at À53.8 eV, similar to the surface charge of similar silica nanomaterials [47]
Focusing on Normal human dermal fibroblasts (NHDFs) behavior, our results show that materials with similar G’ value impact differently on their adhesion and proliferation, in a way that is not directly proportional to the amount of silica particles
Summary
Hydrogels prepared from natural biomolecules have a broad field of applications, including tissue engineering, drug delivery, and soft electronics [1,2,3,4]. The charges must be non-toxic, but it is important to consider the affinity of cells for the particle surface they will sense when exploring their environment. The topology of the composite network depending on the density and dispersion state of the charges will impact cell behavior [17]. Whereas these principles are well studied in 2D configurations, their extension to 3D systems where cells have access to an additional dimension for interaction and mobility remain scarcely studied [18,19]
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