A Single Component Conducting Polymer Hydrogel as a Scaffold for Tissue Engineering

Abstract

Conducting polymers (CPs) have exciting potential as scaffolds for tissue engineering, typically applied in regenerative medicine applications. In particular, the electrical properties of CPs has been shown to enhance nerve and muscle cell growth and regeneration. Hydrogels are particularly suitable candidates as scaffolds for tissue engineering because of their hydrated nature, their biocompatibility, and their tissue‐like mechanical properties. This study reports the development of the first single component CP hydrogel that is shown to combine both electro‐properties and hydrogel characteristics. Poly(3‐thiopheneacetic acid) hydrogels were fabricated by covalently crosslinking the polymer with 1,1′‐carbonyldiimidazole (CDI). Their swelling behavior was assessed and shown to display remarkable swelling capabilities (swelling ratios up to 850%). The mechanical properties of the networks were characterized as a function of the crosslinking density and were found to be comparable to those of muscle tissue. Hydrogels were found to be electroactive and conductive at physiological pH. Fibroblast and myoblast cells cultured on the hydrogel substrates were shown to adhere and proliferate. This is the first time that the potential of a single component CP hydrogel has been demonstrated for cell growth, opening the way for the development of new tissue engineering scaffolds.

Conductive gelatin methacrylate-poly(aniline) hydrogel for cell encapsulation

“…[4,5] However, the electrically nonconductive nature of hydrogels impedes its use for excitable cells such as neural, skeletal and cardiac muscle, and bone cells. [6,7] To extend the utility of hydrogels, conducting 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 3 elements like metallic nanoparticles [8][9][10][11][12][13][14] and inherently conductive polymers (IHPs) [6,[15][16][17][18][19] have been incorporated within hydrogel matrices in order to add conductive properties to the 3D microenvironments.…”

“…[21][22][23][24][25] The use of PANi in engineering cell-laden three-dimensional biomimetic constructs has been limited due to its difficult and non-biocompatible processing steps and its insolubility in common solvents. [17,[26][27][28] Previously, we have reported that PANi can be integrated with synthetic PEGDA and naturally derived gelatin methacrylate (GelMA) hydrogels in situ in order to develop 3D conductive-hydrogels that are sufficiently biocompatible with seeded cells. [29,30] However, like studies similar to ours, the harsh processing methods were incompatible with cell encapsulation approaches.…”

Photolatently modulable hydrogels using unilamellar titania nanosheets as photocatalytic crosslinkers

“…Meanwhile, hydrogel materials, whose structures and functions are postmodulable multiple times, just like living tissues, have long been awaited [7][8][9][10] . Indeed, various applications are expected for hydrogels that are modulable noninvasively in desired time and space domains [11][12][13][14][15][16] .…”

High‐Performance Multifunctional Graphene‐PLGA Fibers: Toward Biomimetic and Conducting 3D Scaffolds

“…The conducting scaffold should also mimic the mechanical and topological environment of the targeted tissue or organ [8] . Construction of conducting scaffolds, which can satisfy all of the mentioned criteria, is an ongoing challenge.…”