Decellularized nerve extracellular matrix/chitosan crosslinked by genipin to prepare a moldable nerve repair material

Abstract

Decellularized nerve extracellular matrix (NECM) composited with chitosan are moldable materials suitable for spinal cord repair. But the rapid biodegradation of the materials may interrupt neural tissue reconstruction in vivo. To improve the stability of the materials, the materials produced by NECM and chitosan hydrogels were crosslinked by genipine, glutaraldehyde or ultraviolet ray. Physicochemical property, degradation and biocompatibility of materials crosslinked by genipin, glutaraldehyde or ultraviolet ray were evaluated. The scaffold crosslinked by genipin possessed a porous structure, and the porosity ratio was 89.07 ? 4.90%, the average diameter of pore was 85.32 ? 5.34 lm. The crosslinked degree of the scaffold crosslinked by genipin and glutaraldehyde was 75.13 ± 4.87%, 71.25 ± 5.06% respectively; Uncrosslinked scaffold disintegrated when immerged in distilled water while the scaffold crosslinked by genipin and glutaraldehyde group retained their integrity. The scaffold crosslinked by genipin has better water absorption, water retention and anti-enzymatic hydrolysis ability than the other three groups. Cell cytotoxicity showed that the cytotoxicity of scaffold crosslinked by genipin was lower than that crosslinked by glutaraldehyde. The histocompatibility of scaffold crosslinked by genipin was also better than glutaraldehyde group. More cells grew well in the scaffold crosslinked by genipin when co-cultured with L929 cells. The decellularized nerve extracellular matrix/chitosan scaffold crosslinked by Fangsong Zhang, Naili Zhang, Qing Xu, and Luping Zhang have contributed to this work equally and should be considered as co-first authors.

Genipin-Crosslinked, Proteosaccharide Scaffolds for Potential Neural Tissue Engineering Applications

“…The HAGELGEN scaffold also showed a high porosity due to the largely hydrophilic network formed and the freeze-drying process resulting in a loss of some molecular water. Other researchers have used scaffolds with an 85% porosity for neural tissue engineering [38,39]. Both the IPN and semi-IPN showed comparable porosities and would be compatible for the migration of cells in vitro while maintaining their structural integrity.…”

Biomaterials Based on Chitosan and Its Derivatives and Their Potential in Tissue Engineering and Other Biomedical Applications—A Review

“…Studies on the use of chitosan are summarized in Table 1 and studies on its derivatives are in Table 2. Good drug delivery, non-cytotoxic to the cornea, good degradability [103] The team of Fangsong Zhang et al [30] used two chemical agents, glutaraldehyde, genipin, and a physical agent, ultraviolet light, to crosslink nerve extracellular matrix/chitosan scaffolds. Scaffolds cross-linked with genipin were characterized by higher porosity and regular structure in contrast to scaffolds cross-linked with glutaraldehyde and UV.…”

Feasibility study of oxidized naringin as a novel crosslinking agent for crosslinking decellularized porcine Achilles tendon and its potential application for anterior cruciate ligament repair

“…Fixation is a chemical modification of immobilizing and crosslinking decellularized materials by blocking the binding site of collagenase 16 . At present, a variety of crosslinking reagents have been developed to fix tissues, such as glutaraldehyde (GA), 17 genipin, 18,19 and so forth. Although it can improve the stability of biological tissues, they have many problems in practical applications 20 .…”