Study of composition of hydrogels and bioactive zinc (II) MOFs on plant tissue growth

Abstract

In this work, we report the synthesis of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) using zinc (II) and the amino acids L-phenylalanine (Phe), L-tryptophan (Trp), and L-histidine (His) as ligands. They were incorporated in hydrogel matrixes comprised of collagen, starch, green and red tomato cells to obtain composite hydrogels. The cell migration into the polymer matrices, the resistance to degradation and in vitro biocompatibility of hydrogels was studied. The cell migration assay showed a high confluence of plant cells, indicating a favorable environment for cell migration and proliferation in the presence of MOF-Zn(His) and MOF-Zn(Phe). During a degradation kinetics in vegetable substrate for 10 days, a rapid loss of water was observed in the first two days, indicating a remarkable water absorption capacity in the hydrogels. The results of metabolic activity in red and green tomato cells revealed a significant increase, exceeding 164±12 %, suggesting promising cell development in this type of composite hydrogels. These results support the potential of hydrogels synthesized with MOFs in agricultural and biotechnological applications, opening perspectives for future research and applications in plant tissue engineering.