A mechanically robust PVA-xylosylated sericin composite hydrogel membrane with enhanced biocompatibility by unidirectional dehydration throught nanopore
Haiyan Wang, Heng‐Da Wang, Yu‐Qing Zhang
Abstract
The high molecular weight sericin recovered by using degumming method of high-temperature and high-pressure water was subjected to a Maillard reaction (MR) with xylose, and the resulting xylosylated sericin (XS) has good water solubility. A mechanically robust, soft, and transparent PVA hydrogel composite membrane (PVA-XS) was obtained by mixing XS (20 w%) into an aqueous PVA solution based on unidirectional nanopore dehydration (UND). The mechanical strength, elongation, and elastic modulus of PVA-XS reached 1.68 MPa, 519.83%, and 0.27 MPa, respectively. UND at 85 °C yielded a hydrogel composite membrane with stronger mechanical properties; these values were 9.94 MPa, 627.20%, and 1.49 MPa. These composite hydrogels have 3D porous structures with pore sizes ranging from 2 to 20 μm, and there was no phase separation. Murine L-929 cells adhered, grew, and proliferated normally on the scaffold. The digestion rates of PVA-XS in both trypsin and alkaline protease were faster than that of high temperature-annealed cast PVA-XS (acPVA-XS). Implantation in vivo did not induce an obvious tissue immune response. The mechanical properties and enzymatic degradation rate of PVA-XS were controlled by UND temperature and XS incorporation. Therefore, the UND-based composite hydrogel has potential applications in the implantation, repair, and regeneration of biological tissues.