Cellulose-based materials as scaffolds for tissue engineering

Abstract

Two types of cellulose-based materials, 6-carboxycellulose with 2.1 or 6.6 wt% of -COOH groups, were prepared and tested for potential use in tissue engineering. The materials were functionalized with arginine, i.e. an amino acid with a basic side chain, or with chitosan, in order to balance the relatively acid character of oxidized cellulose molecules, and were seeded with vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC). The cell adhesion and growth were then evaluated directly on the materials, and also on the underlying polystyrene culture dishes. Of these two types of studied materials, 6-carboxycellulose with 2.1 wt% of -COOH groups was more appropriate for cell colonization. The cells on this material achieved an elongated shape, while they were spherical in shape on the other materials. The number of cells and the concentration (per mg of protein) of contractile proteins alpha-actin and SM1 and SM2 myosins, i.e. markers of the phenotypic maturation of VSMC, were also significantly higher on this material. Functionalization of the material with arginine and chitosan further improved the phenotypic maturation of VSMC. Chitosan also improved the adhesion and growth of these cells. In comparison with the control polystyrene dishes, the proliferation of cells on our cellulose-based materials was relatively low. This suggests that these materials can be used in applications where high proliferation activity of cells is not desirable, e.g. proliferation of VSMC on vascular prostheses. Alternatively, the cell proliferation might be enhanced by another more efficient modification, which would require further research.

A review of bioactive plant polysaccharides: Biological activities, functionalization, and biomedical applications

“…1) (Coseri et al, 2009;Kumar & Yang, 2002;Wu et al, 2012). Oxidized cellulose has shown antitumor, immunostimulant, wound healing, and adhesionprevention properties (Novotna et al, 2013;Zimnitsky, Yurkshtovich, & Bychkovsky, 2004). For example, the calcium/sodium salts of oxidized cellulose prepared from nitrogen oxides in nitric acid have shown immunomodulatory effects in both in vitro and in vivo tests (Jelinkova, Briestensky, Santar & Rihova, 2002).…”

Biomineralization Guided by Paper Templates

“…Cellulose, a polysaccharide with natural origin, has been investigated for biomedical applications111213. Cellulose is a biocompatible matter and does not induce inflammation14.…”

Nanofibrous Scaffolds as Promising Cell Carriers for Tissue Engineering

“…Other promising nanofibrous scaffolds for skin tissue engineering are made of cellulose-based materials, which have achieved a remarkably wide range of applications in clinical practice. These materials serve as wound dressings, carriers for drug delivery, preparations for treatment of ophthalmological disorders, membranes for prevention of postoperative adhesions, meshes for hernia repair, materials for hemostasis, membranes for hemodialysis, and also as materials for plastic, reconstructive, and aesthetic surgery (for a review, see [108][109][110]). For tissue engineering, including skin tissue engineering, cellulose is promising due to its relatively good mechanical properties, low immunogenic properties, high biocompatibility, and water-holding ability [111,112] (for a review, see [109,110]).…”

“…Cellulose is also susceptible to hydrolysis by acids and, to a lesser extent, by alkalis (for a review, see [113]). Our earlier study showed that the degradation rate of cellulose can also be adjusted by percentage (wt.%) of COOH groups introduced into the cellulose molecules, but the following degradation of cellulose was accompanied by the release of glucuronic acid into the culture medium, which considerably lowered its pH and hampered the cell growth even at relatively low concentrations of COOH groups in the cellulose molecules (about 6 wt.% [108]). …”