A covalently crosslinked polysaccharide hydrogel for potential applications in drug delivery and tissue engineering.
The development of non-cytotoxic hydrogels that can allow for the controlled release of molecules has important clinical and therapeutic applications. In this paper, we developed a series of in situ hydrogels by combining N,O-carboxymethyl chitosan and oxidized alginate without additional crosslinking agents. The rheological properties of these hydrogels as well as their gelling time, swelling ratio, and in vitro degradation behavior were investigated. We observed that although gelation was rapid at physiological temperature, it was even faster in the presence of higher oxidization degree of alginate. In vitro cytotoxicity study showed that the developed hydrogels were not cytotoxic after 24 h of culturing with NIH-3T3 cells. Additionally, bovine serum albumin was released from the hydrogels initially by diffusion at early stages followed by a degradation-dependent mechanism at later stages. In conclusion, the developed hydrogel might have potential application in the drug delivery system and tissue engineering.
Institute of Biomedical Engineering, School of Ophthalmology & Optometry and Eye Hospital, Wenzhou Medical College, 270 Xueyuan Road, Wenzhou, 325027, China.
Xingyi
X
Li
Yuhua
Y
Weng
Xiangye
X
Kong
Binjun
B
Zhang
Mei
M
Li
Kai
K
Diao
Zhaoliang
Z
Zhang
Xianhuo
X
Wang
Hao
H
Chen
D000464:Alginates / Q000737:chemistry; D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D048271:Chitosan / Q000737:chemistry; D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents / Q000737:chemistry*; D004058:Diffusion; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D020723:Glucuronic Acid / Q000737:chemistry; D006603:Hexuronic Acids / Q000737:chemistry; D020100:Hydrogels / Q000737:chemistry*; D051379:Mice; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning / Q000379:methods; D041681:NIH 3T3 Cells; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000737:chemistry*; D012710:Serum Albumin, Bovine / Q000737:chemistry; D013696:Temperature; D013778:Tetrazolium Salts / Q000494:pharmacology; D013844:Thiazoles / Q000494:pharmacology; D013997:Time Factors; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*
D000464:Alginates; D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents; D006603:Hexuronic Acids; D020100:Hydrogels; D011134:Polysaccharides; D013778:Tetrazolium Salts; D013844:Thiazoles; D012710:Serum Albumin, Bovine; D020723:Glucuronic Acid; D048271:Chitosan; C022616:thiazolyl blue