A Comprehensive Study on Cartilage Regeneration Using Gellan-gum/Chondroitin Sulfate Hybrid Hydrogels

Abstract

Gellan gum is a heterosaccharide composed of rhamnoose, glucuronic acid and glucose. It is a colorless tasteless odorless powder extracted from aquatic plants in Erodium. It is a biomaterial mainly used in modern tissue engineering. The chondroitin sulfate (CS) has been found to induce slow, sustained relief for osteoarthritis (OA) patients worldwide. It has been also proven a structurally improved arthritis drug that can relieve, delay or stabilize joint inflammation in many animal experiments and clinical trials, thus providing symptom relief in long-term. In this study, we investigated the effect of gellan gum scaffolds containing chondroitin for treating osteoarthritis in vitro. The content of chondroitin hybride in the scaffolds was set to 10, 20 and 30%, and scaffolds was prepared by hydrogel type. SEM was performed to characterize the scaffolds. The cell adhesion and proliferation rate were confirmed by MTT assay and gene expression by RT-PCR. In addition, the compressive strength test were perfomed to confirm mechanical strength. Overall results showed that 20% CS/GG scaffolds was best suitable for adhesion, proliferation rate and gene expression and can be potentially applied for cartilage regeneration.

Biological Role of Gellan Gum in Improving Scaffold Drug Delivery, Cell Adhesion Properties for Tissue Engineering Applications

“…The mechanical properties of the GG are improved by combining it with inorganic materials (for their flexibility), and biopolymers (with poor rigidity) became common and smart solutions to improve the mechanical properties of GG. Composites of GG have been recently accomplished by the introduction of hydroxyapatite (HAp) [31], bioactive glass [32,33], calcium phosphate (CaP) [34], hyaluronic acid (HA) [35], demineralized bone powder (DBP) [36], polyethylene glycol [37], silk fibrin [38], agar [39], saponin [40], and chondroitin sulfate [41]. Table 1 shows the different types of GG composites that are used for biological applications.…”

“…Table 1 shows the different types of GG composites that are used for biological applications. GG is used in the pharmaceutical and biomedical fields, including for gene transfection, gene therapy, wound healing, cell adhesion, guided bone regeneration, dental care, ophthalmic formulations, biological signaling, and as protein carriers, biocides, and delivery agents [40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47]. GG is used in various drug formulations like controlled release, continuous release, injectable nanoparticles, gel beads, and in situ gels [48][49][50][51].…”

Evaluation of Saponin Loaded Gellan Gum Hydrogel Scaffold for Cartilage Regeneration

“…The polysaccharide, such as GG, has good biocompatibility, no toxicity, easy controlling and processing, therefore it is widely used as biomaterials. 17 It is demonstrated that GG-based matrices could maintain high cell viability and proper functionalities, replaceable of the actual cartilage. In cartilage tissue engineering, GG hydrogels got good cyto-compatiblity and ability of maintaining chondrocyte phenotype and enhancing bio-ability of cartilaginous ECM.…”