title: Reactive hydroxyapatite fillers for pectin biocomposites.
abstract: In this work, a novel injectable biocomposite hydrogel is produced by internal gelation, using pectin as organic matrix and hydroxyapatite either as crosslinking agent and inorganic reinforcement. Tunable gelling kinetics and rheological properties are obtained varying the hydrogels' composition, with the final aim of developing systems for cell immobilization. The reversibility by dissolution of pectin-hydroxyapatite hydrogels is achieved with saline solutions, to possibly accelerate the release of the cells or active agents immobilized. Texture analysis confirms the possibility of extruding the biocomposites from needles with diameters from 20 G to 30 G, indicating that they can be implanted with minimally-invasive approaches, minimizing the pain during injection and the side effects of the open surgery. L929 fibroblasts entrapped in the hydrogels survive to the immobilization procedure and exhibit high cell viability. On the overall, these systems result to be suitable supports for the immobilization of cells for tissue regeneration applications.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio di Biomateriali, Dipartimento di Chimica, Materiali e Ingegneria Chimica 'G. Natta', Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano, Italy; UdR INSTM Milano Politecnico, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Fabiola
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Munarin
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio di Biomateriali, Dipartimento di Chimica, Materiali e Ingegneria Chimica 'G. Natta', Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano, Italy; UdR INSTM Milano Politecnico, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano, Italy. Electronic address: paola.petrini@polimi.it.
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Petrini
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio di Biomateriali, Dipartimento di Chimica, Materiali e Ingegneria Chimica 'G. Natta', Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Giulia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Barcellona
authors.affiliation: DeFENS, Dipartimento per gli Alimenti, la Nutrizione e l'Ambiente, Università di Milano, 20133 Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Tommaso
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Roversi
authors.affiliation: DeFENS, Dipartimento per gli Alimenti, la Nutrizione e l'Ambiente, Università di Milano, 20133 Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Piazza
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Molecular Medicine, Center for Tissue Engineering (C.I.T.), INSTM UdR of Pavia, University of Pavia, 27100 Pavia, Italy; Dept. of Occupational Medicine, Ergonomy and Disability, Lab. Nanotechnology, Salvatore Maugeri Foundation, IRCCS, 27100 Pavia, Italy.
authors.forename: Livia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Visai
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio di Biomateriali, Dipartimento di Chimica, Materiali e Ingegneria Chimica 'G. Natta', Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano, Italy; UdR INSTM Milano Politecnico, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria Cristina
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Tanzi
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry*; D002460:Cell Line; D018914:Cells, Immobilized; D005780:Gelatin / Q000737:chemistry; D020100:Hydrogels / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry; D006882:Hydroxyapatites / Q000737:chemistry*; D051379:Mice; D010368:Pectins / Q000737:chemistry*; D012212:Rheology; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D020100:Hydrogels; D006882:Hydroxyapatites; D010368:Pectins; D005780:Gelatin
keywords: Biomaterials; Hydrogels; Hydroxyapatite; Injectable; Internal gelation; Pectin