Decellularization and characterization of leek: a potential cellulose-based biomaterial

The Emerging Role of Decellularized Plant-Based Scaffolds as a New Biomaterial

“…It was further shown that cellular response to external stress, such as drug or radiation exposure, was different between cells seeded on decellularized scaffolds and plastic flasks, highlighting the need to better characterize the cellular behavior on such scaffolds before their complete integration in multiple biomedical applications. Although evidence regarding altered cell morphology and proliferation rates on decellularized plant scaffolds has been echoed [61], other studies have shown disparate data that did not indicate a change in cell morphology or proliferation between soft vegetal and stiff plastic substrates [54,70]. Such observations were surprising since the influence of stiffness on cell behavior is well established but could be explained by the low relevance of the technical approach (visual observation instead of quantitative data) used to investigate these outcomes.…”

“…Thus, optimization and alternative protocols have been explored (Table 1). Amazon sword [55], Anthurium [35], Anthurium (queen) [35], Apple interior [24,32,33,53,56], Asparagus [56], Bamboo [31,35], Basil [55], Broccoli stem [52,56], Cabbage [57], Calathea zebrina [35], Carrot [52,56], Celery [53,56,58], Cucumber [56], Ficus hispida [59], Garcinia [59], Green onion [56,60], Impatiens capensis [35], Jujube [52], Leek [61], Lucky bamboo [55], Orchid pseudobulb [35], Pachira aquatica [59], Parsley stem [34,58], Peanut hairy root [34], Persimmon [52], Potato [56], Solenostemon "wasabi" [35], Spinach [34,54,55,58,60,62,63], Sweet yellow bell pepper [52], Sweet wormwood …”

“…This coating showed a stimulatory effect on cell attachment and proliferation of human dermal fibroblast cells seeded on decellularized spinach leaves for over 10 days [62]. In another study, organosilanes (3-Aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES), trichloro(octadecyl)silane (OTS), and graphene oxide (GO) were compared [61]. While each promoted the viability of human neuroblastoma cells, cells seeded on the GO-coated scaffold were found to proliferate and spread more effectively.…”

“…For example, the vegetal kingdom provides highly diversified material, such as leaves, whose stiffness can vary considerably [95]. Interestingly, many studies showed that once decellularized, the leaf stiffness, as measured by Young's modulus (YM), decreases drastically [34,55] (Figure 6) and can reach, for some plant species, the same range of most of human tissues [31,35,53,55,61,64] such as soft organs (1-20 kPa), muscle (10 kPa), pre-calcified bone (100 kPa), or calcified cortical bone (20 GPa) [96] (Figure 7). For example, using atomic force microscopy (AFM), the local elasticity of apple hypanthium or succulent plant leaves was found to be ~1 kPa, which is similar to that found in brain tissue.…”

“…Biomaterials with matched mechanical properties will more accurately recapitulate the cellular microenvironment. To this end, preliminary investigation has demonstrated that cells seeded on soft vegetal scaffolds behave differently when compared with those seeded on the traditional, hard tissue culture plastic flasks [55,61,70]. Cancer cells grown on decellularized spinach leaf scaffolds have been shown to have downregulated YAP/TAZ signaling, decreased proliferation rates, and more rounded cell morphology than those grown on standard tissue culture flasks [55].…”