Extracellular matrix (ECM)-inspired high-strength gelatin-alginate based hydrogels for bone repair
Tengling Wu, Luxing Liu, Ziwei Gao, Chunyan Cui, Chuanchuan Fan, Yang Liu, Mingyuan Di, Qiang Yang, Ziyang Xu, Wenguang Liu
Abstract
-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS) to obtain Gelatin-HAlg-DN hydrogels. The obtained Gelatin-HAlg-DN hydrogels exhibit considerably enhanced mechanical properties (tensile strength: 0.9 MPa; elongation at break: 177%) with a maximum 16- and 3.2-fold increase in tensile strength and elongation at break, respectively, compared with gelatin methacrylate (GelMA) hydrogels. Importantly, the Gelatin-HAlg-DN hydrogels exhibit excellent biodegradability and swelling stability under physiological conditions, and the capability to support cell adhesion and proliferation. In a rat critical size bone defect model, Gelatin-HAlg-DN hydrogels loaded with psoralen could effectively promote bone regeneration, showing appealing potential as tissue engineering scaffolds.