title: Metal cation cross-linked nanocellulose hydrogels as tissue engineering substrates.
abstract: The use of cellulose materials for biomedical applications is attractive due to their low cost, biocompatibility, and biodegradability. Specific processing of cellulose to yield nanofibrils further improves mechanical properties and suitability as a tissue engineering substrate due to the similarity to the fibrous structure, porosity, and size-scale of the native extracellular matrix. In order to generate the substrate, nanocellulose hydrogels were fabricated from carboxylated cellulose nanofibrils via hydrogelation using metal salts. Hydrogels cross-linked with Ca(2+) and Fe(3+) were investigated as tissue culture substrates for C3H10T1/2 fibroblast cells. Control substrates as well as those with physically adsorbed and covalently attached fibronectin protein were evaluated with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Significantly more cells were attached to surfaces modified with protein, with the highest number of cells adhered to the calcium cross-linked hydrogels with covalently attached protein.
authors.affiliation: United States Army Research Laboratory, Weapons and Materials Research Directorate, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland 21005, United States.
authors.forename: Nicole E
authors.initials: NE
authors.lastname: Zander
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.forename: Joshua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Steele
authors.forename: John T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Grant
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000737:chemistry*; D002412:Cations / Q000737:chemistry; D002448:Cell Adhesion / Q000187:drug effects; D002460:Cell Line; D002482:Cellulose / Q000737:chemistry*; D005347:Fibroblasts; D005353:Fibronectins / Q000737:chemistry; D020136:Hydrogel, Polyethylene Glycol Dimethacrylate / Q000737:chemistry*; D020100:Hydrogels / Q000737:chemistry*; D007501:Iron / Q000737:chemistry*; D051379:Mice; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry*; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; D023822:Tissue Engineering; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D002412:Cations; D005353:Fibronectins; D020100:Hydrogels; D020136:Hydrogel, Polyethylene Glycol Dimethacrylate; D002482:Cellulose; D007501:Iron; D002118:Calcium
keywords: FTIR; XPS; fibroblasts; fibronectin; nanocellulose; tissue engineering