Partially oxidized polyvinyl alcohol as a promising material for tissue engineering

Abstract

The desired clinical outcome after implantation of engineered tissue substitutes depends strictly on the development of biodegradable scaffolds. In this study we fabricated 1% and 2% oxidized polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) hydrogels, which were considered for the first time for tissue-engineering applications. The final aim was to promote the protein release capacity and biodegradation rate of the resulting scaffolds in comparison with neat PVA. After physical crosslinking, characterization of specific properties of 1% and 2% oxidized PVA was performed. We demonstrated that mechanical properties, hydrodynamic radius of molecules, thermal characteristics and degree of crystallinity were inversely proportional to the PVA oxidation rate. On the other hand, swelling behaviour and protein release were enhanced, confirming the potential of oxidized PVA as a protein delivery system, besides being highly biodegradable. Twelve weeks after in vivo implantation in mice, the modified hydrogels did not elicit severe inflammatory reactions, showing them to be biocompatible and to degrade faster as the degree of oxidation increased. According to our results, oxidized PVA stands out as a novel biomaterial for tissue engineering that can be used to realize scaffolds with customizable mechanical behaviour, protein-loading ability and biodegradability. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Halogen-Mediated Partial Oxidation of Polyvinyl Alcohol for Tissue Engineering Purposes

“…Decellularized, homogenized and lyophilized sheets from articular cartilage, Wharton's Jelly and small intestine were cross-linked to PVA, obtaining bio-hybrid supports that sustained cell adhesion and proliferation [25][26][27]. In parallel, we proposed for the first time a standardized method to perform chemical oxidation of PVA by KMnO 4 in acid environment, in order to obtain scaffolds with improved swelling kinetics and protein adsorption/release ability with respect to neat PVA, as well as with tunable biodegradation properties which increase along with the degree of oxidation [19,22,23].…”

“…An aqueous solution of 16 wt% neat PVA was prepared as described previously by Stocco and Collaborators [19,25]. In brief, PVA powder was weighted, suspended into milliQ water and then heated for 48 hours (h) at 100 • C under stirring until complete dissolution of the polymer.…”

“…The preparation of OxPVA_KMnO 4 _1 (1% oxidized PVA with KMnO 4 ) was performed according to a published protocol [19]. Briefly, 10 g of PVA were added to 200 g of milliQ water and heated in a boiling water bath for 60 min (min) over a magnetic stirrer.…”

“…PVA, OxPVA_KMnO 4 _1, OxPVA_Br 2 _1, OxPVA_Cl 2 _1 and OxPVA_I 2 _1 hydrogel scaffolds were prepared as already described by Stocco and Collaborators [19,25]. Briefly, a solution of each polymer was poured between two sheets of plate glass separated by 2 mm-thick spacers.…”

Partially oxidized polyvinyl alcohol conduitfor peripheral nerve regeneration

“…In the light of this, the purpose of the present study was to ascertain, through in vitro and in vivo studies, the effectiveness of a nerve conduit made of 1% Oxidized PVA (OxPVA), a novel resorbable biomaterial recently developed by our research group 19 . Thus, its performances were compared with that of neat PVA and Silk-Fibroin nerve guides.…”