Anti-Microbial Biopolymer Hydrogel Scaffolds for Stem Cell Encapsulation

作者：Kuhn Philipp T; Rozenbaum Rene T; Perrels Estelle; Sharma Prashant K; van Rijn Patrick^*

来源：Polymers, 2017, 9(4): 149.

DOI：10.3390/polym9040149

• hydrogel
• alginate
• chitosan
• stem cell scaffold
• anti-microbial

Biopolymer hydrogels are an attractive class of materials for wound dressings and other biomedical applications because of their ease of use and availability from biomass. Here, we present a hydrogel formation approach based on alginate and chitosan. Alginate is conventionally cross-linked using multivalent ions such as Ca2+ but in principle any polycationic species can be used such as polyelectrolytes. Exchanging the cross-linking Ca2+ ions partially with chitosan, which at pH 7 has available positive charges as well as good interactions with Ca2+, leads to an improved Young's modulus. This gel is non-toxic to mammalian cells and hence allows conveniently for stem cell encapsulation since it is based on two-component mixing and gel formation. Additionally, the chitosan is known to have a bactericidal effect which is retained when using it in the alginate-chitosan gel formation and the formed hydrogels displayed bactericidal effects against P. aeruginosa and S. aureus. The combination of anti-bacterial properties, inclusion of stem cells, and the hydrogel nature would provide an ideal environment for complex wound healing.

• 出版日期2017-4