Covalently crosslinked chitosan-poly(ethylene glycol) hybrid hydrogels to deliver insulin for adipose-derived stem cells encapsulation

• Published in: Macromolecular research Vol. 21; no. 4; pp. 392 - 399
• Main Authors: Tan, Huaping, Luan, Hekun, Hu, Yihang, Hu, Xiaohong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Heidelberg The Polymer Society of Korea 01-04-2013; 한국고분자학회
• Subjects: Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Complex Fluids and Microfluidics; Nanochemistry; Nanotechnology; Physical Chemistry; Polymer Sciences; Soft and Granular Matter; 고분자공학; chitosan; biodegradable hydrogel; poly(ethylene glycol); insulin; adipose tissue engineering
• ISSN: 1598-5032; 2092-7673
• DOI: 10.1007/s13233-013-1023-8

Biodegradable hydrogels carrying adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) have been highlighted with promising potential regarding adipose tissue engineering. In this study, covalently crosslinked natural/synthetic hybrid hydrogels were prepared from methacrylated water soluble chitosan (
N
-succinyl-chitosan, SCS) and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) by photoinitiaing polymerization under the existence of Irgacure 2959 and the irradiation of UV light. The effect of the incorporated PEG on the
in vitro
morphologies, equilibrium swelling, weight loss and compressive modulus of SCS/PEG hybrid hydrogels in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) at 37 °C were studied. In order to evaluate the ability of hydrogels to effectively deliver the adipogenic factor, insulin was entrapped within hydrogels by copolymerizing methacrylated SCS/PEG. The insulin would be released from the hydrogels into the local microenvironment
via
the controlled weight ratio of SCS/PEG. Results demonstrated that the hybrid hydrogel with 10 wt% PEG showed a higher efficiency of insulin delivery compared to the control hydrogels. ASCs were seeded into the insulin-loaded SCS/PEG hydrogels
in vitro
to assess the biological performance and applicability of hydrogels as cell carriers. These characteristics provide potential opportunities for the hybrid SCS/PEG hydrogels as injectable scaffolds in soft tissue engineering applications.