ObjectiveTo prepare of a novel functional self-assembling peptide nanofiber hydrogel scaffold RADKPS designed with linking the short functional motif of bone morphogenetic protein 7 (BMP-7) and to evaluate its biocompatibility so as to provide the experimental basis for in vivo studies on regeneration of degenerated nucleus pulposus tissue. MethodA functional self-assembling peptide RADA-KPSS was designed by linking the short functional motif of BMP-7 to the self-assembling peptide RADA16-I. And the novel functional self-assembling peptide RADKPS was finally prepared by isometric mixing RADA16-I with RADA-KPSS. The structure characteristic of the functional self-assembling peptide nanofiber hydrogel scaffold RADKPS was evaluated by general observation and atomic force microscopy. Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) were isolated from 3-month-old New Zealand white rabbits and cultured. After the 3rd generation BMSCs were seeded on the peptide nanofiber hydrogel scaffold RADKPS for 7 days, the cellular compatibility of RADKPS was evaluated through scanning electron microscopy assay, cellular fluorescein diacetate/propidium iodide staining, and MTT assay. 1%RADKPS was injected into isolated intervertebral disc organs from 6-month-old New Zealand white rabbits, then the organs were cultured and the cellular activity of the intervertebral disc organs was observed. The blood compatibility of RADKPS was evaluated with hemolytic assay. After RADKPS was implanted into subcutaneous part of Kunming mice (aged 6-8 weeks) for 28 days, general observation and HE staining were carried out to evaluate the tissue compatibility. ResultsThe functional self-assembling peptide solution RADKPS presented a homogeneous transparent hydrogel-like. Atomic force microscopy revealed that the RADKPS could self-assemble into three-dimensional nanofiber hydrogel scaffolds; the fibre diameter was (25.68±4.62) nm, and the fibre length was (512.42±32.22) nm. After BMSCs cultured on RADKPS for 7 days, scanning electron microscopy showed that BMSCs adhered to the scaffolds. And cell viability was maintained over 90%. MTT assay revealed that RADKPS of 0.1%, 0.05%, and 0.025% could increase the proliferation of BMSCs. The result of hemolytic assay revealed that the hemolysis rates of the RADKPS solutions with different concentrations were less than 5%, indicating that it met the requirement of hemolytic assay standard for medical biomaterials. After subcutaneous implantation, no vesicle, erythema, and eschar formation around injection site were observed. Meanwhile, HE staining showed inflammatory cells infiltration (lymphocytes), substitution of hydrogel scaffold by fibrous tissue, and good tissue compatibility. ConclusionsThe novel functional self-assembling peptide nanofiber hydrogel scaffold RADKPS has good biocompatibility and biological reliability, which would be suitable for tissue engineering repair and regeneration of nucleus pulposus tissue.
In cases where a tracheal injury exceeds half the length of the adult trachea or one-third of the length of the child trachea, it becomes difficult to perform end-to-end anastomosis after tracheal resection due to excessive tension at the anastomosis site. In such cases, tracheal replacement therapy is required. Advances in tissue engineering technology have led to the development of tissue engineering tracheal substitutes, which have promising applications. Hydrogels, which are highly hydrated and possess a good three-dimensional network structure, biocompatibility, low immunogenicity, biodegradability, and modifiability, have had wide applications in the field of tissue engineering. This article provides a review of the characteristics, advantages, disadvantages, and effects of various hydrogels commonly used in tissue engineering trachea in recent years. Additionally, the article discusses and offers prospects for the future application of hydrogels in the field of tissue engineering trachea.
ObjectiveTo summarize the research progress of hydrogels for the regeneration and repair of degenerative intervertebral disc and to investigate the potential of hydrogels in clinical application.MethodsThe related literature about the role of hydrogels in intervertebral disc degeneration especially for nucleus pulposus was reviewed and analyzed.ResultsHydrogels share similar properties with nucleus pulposus, and it plays an important role in the regeneration and repair of degenerative intervertebral disc, which can be mainly applied in nucleus pulposus prosthesis, hydrogel-based cell therapy, non-cellular therapy, and tissue engineering repair.ConclusionHydrogels are widely used in the regeneration and repair of intervertebral disc, which provides a potential treatment for intervertebral disc degeneration.
Heart failure affects quality of life and life expectancy of tens of millions of individuals. There are no available economic and effective treatments for end-stage heart failure. Hydrogels are novel tissue engineering materials, which have the potential to ameliorate myocardium remodeling, increase cardiac output, improve quality of life and prolong life span by implantation into myocardium. The preclinical experiments and clinical trials have greatly explored the function of hydrogels in heart failure. In this review, we summarized the approaches of implantation, mechanism and clinical outcomes of the hydrogels.
Objective To introduce the development of dextran-based hydrogel and its drug delivery system in drug sustained and/or controlled release, and to investigate their application in tissue engineering.Methods Related literature was extensively reviewed and comprehensively analyzed. Results In recent years, great progress was made in the studies of dextran-based hydrogels and study on dextran-based intelligent materials became an investigative hotspot especially in tissue engineering. Conclusion Dextran based hydrogel is considered to be a good potential material in field of drug delivery and tissue engineering. Endowed with new characteristics, a series of intelligent biomaterials can be derived from dextran-based hydrogels, which can be widely used in biomedicine. Further study should be done on the industrialization of its interrelated production.
This research aims to investigate the encapsulation and controlled release effect of the newly developed self-assembling peptide R-LIFE-1 on exosomes. The gelling ability and morphological structure of the chiral self-assembling peptide (CSAP) hydrogel were examined using advanced imaging techniques, including atomic force microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and cryo-scanning electron microscopy. The biocompatibility of the CSAP hydrogel was assessed through optical microscopy and fluorescent staining. Exosomes were isolated via ultrafiltration, and their quality was evaluated using Western blot analysis, nanoparticle tracking analysis, and transmission electron microscopy. The controlled release effect of the CSAP hydrogel on exosomes was quantitatively analyzed using laser confocal microscopy and a BCA assay kit. The results revealed that the self-assembling peptide R-LIFE-1 exhibited spontaneous assembly in the presence of various ions, leading to the formation of nanofibers. These nanofibers were cross-linked, giving rise to a robust nanofiber network structure, which further underwent cross-linking to generate a laminated membrane structure. The nanofibers possessed a large surface area, allowing them to encapsulate a substantial number of water molecules, thereby forming a hydrogel material with high water content. This hydrogel served as a stable spatial scaffold and loading matrix for the three-dimensional culture of cells, as well as the encapsulation and controlled release of exosomes. Importantly, R-LIFE-1 demonstrated excellent biocompatibility, preserving the growth of cells and the biological activity of exosomes. It rapidly formed a three-dimensional network scaffold, enabling the stable loading of cells and exosomes, while exhibiting favorable biocompatibility and reduced cytotoxicity. In conclusion, the findings of this study support the notion that R-LIFE-1 holds significant promise as an ideal tissue engineering material for tissue repair applications.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of compound pattern of ceramic bovine bone (CBB) and hydrogel(HG) on attachment, proliferation and differentiation of bone marrow stromal cell (MSC), and to find out the best way of constructing tissue engineered bone. METHODS: CBB, HG and MSC was compounded in different patterns and sequences to form CBB/HG/MSC (group A), HG/MSC/CBB (group B), CBB/MSC/HA (group C) and CBB/MSC (control group). Attachment and morphology of MSC were observed by scanning electronic microscope; the proliferation of MSC was evaluated by cell count; alkaline phosphatase(ALP) activity was examined by histochemistry and type I collagen synthesis was examined by immunohistochemistry staining 5 and 10 days later. RESULTS: In group A, MSC spread better, and ALP activity of group A was significantly higher than that of group B and control group(P lt; 0.01); but there was no significant difference between group A and group C(P gt; 0.05). There was no significant difference in type I collagen synthesis between four groups on the 5th day; but mean gray scale of type I collagen in group B was significantly higher than that in the other groups on the 10th day(P lt; 0.01). CONCLUSION: Different compound patterns of CBB, HG and MSC affect attachment, proliferation, differentiation of MSC. The compound pattern of CBB/HG/MSC is better than the others.
【Abstract】 Objective To increase the viscosity of chitosan/glycerol phosphate（C/GP）and to improve its preparation technique in order to develop the appl ication range of C/GP. Methods Chitosan was treated by high-pressure vapor steril ization in order to prepare high viscous C/GP（HV-C/GP）and prepare C/GP by standard methods. The rheologic changes of HV-C/GP and C/GP were detected dynamically by the Gemini rheometer. The initial solution viscosity, gelation temperature and gelation time were evaluated after the viscosity of the materials were increased. Two gelation materials were placed into continuous flow thermostated cells under the same condition and harvest them at predetermined time intervals, 1st, 2nd, 5th, 10th and 25th days, then they were dried, weighed and the mass loss rate was calculated. Ultrastructure of the freeze-dried samples was visual ized by the scanning electron microscope. Results The initial viscosity of C/GP was 1.81 Pas and that of HV-C/GP was 17.24 Pas. The latter one increased 10 times as well as the former one. The gelation temperature of C/GP was 37°C and that of HV-C/GP was 34°C. There was no remarkable difference in gelation time between them. The mass loss rate of HV-C/GP at first day was 72.5% and at 25th days was 90.8%, while that of C/GP was 55.4% and 78.2%. Porous network structure was observed by the scanning electron microscope in both of them. The pore diameter of C/GP was 50-100 μm and that of HV-C/GP was 30-50 μm, which was obviously smaller than the former. Conclusion The viscosity of HV-C/GP prepared by improved technique obviously increases and the thermosensitivity has no significant changes. The degradation time of HV-C/GP in vitro lengthens. The micrographs show that the HV-C/GP gels are porous and the pore diameter are smaller than C/GP.
ObjectiveTo review the application of silk fibroin scaffold in bone tissue engineering. MethodsThe related literature about the application of silk fibroin scaffold in bone tissue engineering was reviewed, analyzed, and summarized. ResultsSilk fibroin can be manufactured into many types, such as hydrogel, film, nano-fiber, and three-dimensional scaffold, which have superior biocompatibility, slow biodegradability, nontoxic degradation products, and excellent mechanical strength. Meanwhile these silk fibroin biomaterials can be chemically modified and can be used to carry stem cells, growth factors, and compound inorganic matter. ConclusionSilk fibroin scaffolds can be widely used in bone tissue engineering. But it still needs further study to prepare the scaffold in accordance with the requirement of tissue engineering.
Research on vitreous substitutes has advanced from conventional gases and silicone oils to third-generation biomimetic hydrogels. While existing substitutes provide short-term retinal tamponade, they typically require strict postoperative positioning and carry risks of cataract formation, ocular hypertension, and silicone oil emulsification. These materials therefore fall short of meeting the essential requirements for long-term tissue support, matched physicochemical properties, and high biocompatibility simultaneously. Recently, polymer-based hydrogels have gained prominence as ideal candidates owing to their high water content, optical transparency, adjustable viscoelasticity, and favorable biocompatibility. They have diversified into several forms, including uncrosslinked solutions, preformed hydrogels systems, and in-situ crosslinked systems. Biopolymer hydrogels, such as those derived from hyaluronic acid, collagen, or alginate, demonstrate high safety but often exhibit inadequate mechanical strength and poor stability in vivo. Synthetic polymer hydrogels, including polyethylene glycol, polyvinyl alcohol, and polyvinylpyrrolidone, allow tunable properties yet raise concerns regarding monomer toxicity and degradation-related safety. Future research is shifting from simple material replacement toward functional reconstruction and intelligent regulation. Increasing efforts aim to develop smart hydrogels capable of sustained drug release and cell encapsulation, alongside advanced strategies employing biodegradable scaffolds to promote native vitreous regeneration, with the ultimate goal of achieving full functional restoration.