Highly Elastic and Tough IPN-Structure Hydrogels for Cyclic Mechanical Loading Enhanced Tissue Engineering

Overview

Ionically crosslinked alginate hydrogels can be permantly deformed and break under mechanical stimulation due to their low elasticity and brittleness. In this study, we engineered highly elastic and tough hybrid hydrogels resulting from an interpenetrating polymer network (IPN)-structure of ionically crosslinked alginate and photocrosslinked methacrylated gelatin (GelMA) and examined their utility as bone tissue engineering scaffolds. IPN-structured hydrogels were prepared by mixing two different polymers at an equal volume ratio and crosslinking them: ionically crosslinked alginate and photocrosslinked GelMA. The elasticity of the hydrogels was measured with unconfined cyclic compression testing up to 50% strain. To evaluate the capacity of these gels to support osteogenesis, the human mesenchymal stem cell (hMSC)/hydrogel constructs were subjected to strain controlled, unconfined, dynamic compression using a BOSE bioreactor (ElectroForce BioDynamic test instrument). While alginate-only hydrogels exhibited significant permanent deformation after unloading, the IPN-structured hydrogels fully recovered their original thickness after each unloading. The viability of encapsulated hMSCs was higher than 90 % in the IPN-structured hydrogels, and mechanical stimulation lead to more than 1.5-fold increase of their proliferation at day 7 (N=6) and 1.7-fold increase of calcium deposition, which is the definitive marker of stem cell osteogenic differentiation, at day 28 (N=6). This hydrogel system may be valuable for biomedical applications that require a biomaterial to fully recover from large strains and long-term cyclic compression.

Competition history

• AJAS 2018 Category not listed

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