Quercetin-Embedded Gelastin Injectable Hydrogel as Provisional Biotemplate for Future Cutaneous Application: Optimization and In Vitro Evaluation

Abstract

Chronic wounds have become an epidemic in millions of patients and result in amputations. In order to overcome this, immediate treatment is a realistic strategy to minimize the risk of complications and aid in the healing rate of the cutaneous wound. Functionalized engineered biomaterials are proven to be a potential approach to embarking on skin wound management. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a quercetin-embedded gelatin–elastin (Gelastin) injectable hydrogel to act as a provisional biotemplate with excellent physicochemical properties, to be utilized for future cutaneous application. Briefly, the hydrogel was homogenously pre-mixed with genipin (GNP), followed by the incorporation of quercetin (QC). The physicochemical properties comprised the contact angle, swelling ratio, crosslinking degree, enzymatic biodegradation, and water vapor transmission rate (WVTR), as well as chemical characterization. Energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX), XRD, and Fourier transform infra-red (FTIR) analyses were conducted. Briefly, the findings demonstrated that the crosslinked hybrid biomatrix demonstrated better resilience at >100%, a contact angle of >20°, a swelling ratio average of 500 ± 10%, a degradation rate of <0.05 mg/hour, and a successful crosslinking degree (<70%free amine group), compared to the non-crosslinked hybrid biomatrix. In addition, the WVTR was >1500 g/m2 h, an optimal moisture content designed to attain regular cell function and proliferation. The outcomes convey that Gelastin-QC hydrogels deliver the optimum features to be used as a provisional biotemplate for skin tissue engineering purposes.

The Fabrication of Gelatin–Elastin–Nanocellulose Composite Bioscaffold as a Potential Acellular Skin Substitute

“…Elastin also reduced the weight loss of alginate scaffolds, but the result was statistically insignificant [ 44 ]. In contrast, gelatin and elastin hydrogels degraded at a slightly faster rate than pure gelatin hydrogels, which is consistent with the present study [ 39 ]. Composite scaffolds made from chitosan and elastin degraded faster compared to pure chitosan scaffolds, which was due to elastin disrupting the crystalline structure of chitosan [ 20 ].…”

“…Nitta-Gelatin was also combined with collagen and elastin to form composite scaffolds acting as acellular templates for skin regeneration [ 22 ]. Additionally, it has been combined with elastin to form hydrogels for cutaneous wound treatment [ 39 ].…”

In vitro evaluation of genipin-crosslinked gelatin hydrogels for vocal fold injection

“…The data was interpreted as mean ± standard deviation. In certain tests, 0.1% genipin was used as a control group because previous research demonstrated that this concentration was not cytotoxic 20 .…”

Characterization of Dual-Layer Hybrid Biomatrix for Future Use in Cutaneous Wound Healing

“…The CL/CL bilayer provides a good surface wettability at an angle below 90°; thus, the hydrophilic surface may promote cell attachment. Both collagen and gelatin improve the hydrophilicity of the surface [ 37 , 51 ].…”

“…Instead, the usage of promising natural sources’ biomaterials can benefit more without considering the side effects of the drugs or the potential for the drug to not work as intended. Using acellular natural source scaffolds has much potential and can be highly suitable for wound healing treatments [ 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 ].…”