Gelatin hydrogels: enhanced biocompatibility, drug release and cell viability

Abstract

Biodegradability and enhanced biocompatibility with pH-sensitivity of hydrogels are becoming very important issues for biomaterials applications so as to minimize the host-body reactions such as, inflammatory, antigenic, and immunogenic problems. This study involves development of hydrogel matrices of gelatin conjugated/modified with highly hydrophilic, pH-sensitive and biocompatible polymer, poly (2-ethyl-2-oxazoline) and glyoxylic acid respectively. Various compositions of gelatin conjugated/modified with poly (2-ethyl-2-oxazoline) (gp) and glyoxylic acid (gg) were synthesized. The swelling kinetics, cell viability and drug release capability from the gels at pH 4.5 and 7.4 were investigated. The results of swelling kinetics showed that, both the degree of swelling (DS) and the maximum degree of swelling (MDS) increased as function of modification (increase in modification) and pH with an increase of time, which is due to increase in ionic groups. The drug-release (1% chlorhexidine) studies at pH 7.4 and 4.5 confirmed a proportional drug release with an increase in degree of swelling. The results of in-vitro cytotoxicity tests using mouse embryonic 3T3 fibroblast cells indicated, an improved cell viability for gelatin gels conjugated/modified with poly (2-ethyl-2-oxazoline) (gp) and glyoxylic acid (gg) gels, when compared with 1% glutaraldehyde cross-linked gelatin gels (gx). Hence, cross-linked gelatin gels can be replaced with gp/gg for potential use in biomedical applications as a matrix for drug delivery.

Synthesis of Gelatin-γ-Polyglutamic Acid-Based Hydrogel for the In Vitro Controlled Release of Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG) from Camellia sinensis

“…The swelling degree is one of the considerations in deciding the ideal formulation for synthesizing hydrogel; since, as indicated in various studies, SD has a proportional relationship with drug release [29]. In Figure 3b, the plot of SD against the ratio of the concentrations of the two polymers proved that there is an optimal value of γ-PGA for a specific amount of gelatin manifested by different SD properties.…”

Development of drug-loaded chitosan–vanillin nanoparticles and its cytotoxicity against HT-29 cells

“…To avoid these potential side effects, some physical crosslinking reagent like sodium tripolyphosphate or sodium sulfate have been used to form nanoparticles with chitosan; however, the mechanical strength of these nanoparticles was not high enough and ''burst release'' was often accompanied these nanoparticles (Gupta & Jabrail, 2006;Rathna, 2008;Pramila & Brahmeshwar, 2014). Therefore, the selection of appropriate crosslinking reagent is crucial for the preparation of chitosan particles.…”

Vanillin cross-linked chitosan microspheres for controlled release of resveratrol

“…Several chemical cross-linkers have been used such as glutaraldehyde, formaldehyde, glyoxal and other reactive cross-linking agents (Ajit, Namdev, Sangamesh, & Tejraj, 2007;Gupta & Jabrail, 2006). However, these agents, classified as toxic substances and residual cross-linkers in microspheres, would give rise to health concerns and cause undesirable side effects (Fürst & Banerjee, 2005;Rathna, 2008). To avoid the disadvantages of chemical cross-linking, some physical cross-linkers have been used.…”