Retinol-Loaded Poly(vinyl alcohol)-Based Hydrogels as Suitable Biomaterials with Antimicrobial Properties for the Proliferation of Mesenchymal Stem Cells

Abstract

Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) hydrogels are well-known biomimetic 3D systems for mammalian cell cultures to mimic native tissues. Recently, several biomolecules were intended for use in PVA hydrogels to improve their biological properties. However, retinol, an important biomolecule, has not been combined with a PVA hydrogel for culturing bone marrow mesenchymal stem (BMMS) cells. Thus, for the first time, the effect of retinol on the physicochemical, antimicrobial, and cell proliferative properties of a PVA hydrogel was investigated. The ability of protein (3.15 nm) and mineral adsorption (4.8 mg/mL) of a PVA hydrogel was improved by 0.5 wt.% retinol. The antimicrobial effect of hydrogel was more significant in S. aureus (39.3 mm) than in E. coli (14.6 mm), and the effect was improved by increasing the retinol concentration. The BMMS cell proliferation was more upregulated in retinol-loaded PVA hydrogel than in the control at 7 days. We demonstrate that the respective in vitro degradation rate of retinol-loaded PVA hydrogels (RPH) (75–78% degradation) may promote both antibacterial and cellular proliferation. Interestingly, the incorporation of retinol did not affect the cell-loading capacity of PVA hydrogel. Accordingly, the fabricated PVA retinol hydrogel proved its compatibility in a stem cell culture and could be a potential biomaterial for tissue regeneration.

Protein Adsorption, Calcium-Binding Ability, and Biocompatibility of Silver Nanoparticle-Loaded Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) Hydrogels Using Bone Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells

“…Interestingly, both hydrogels favored the adsorption of protein, and the protein-binding ability was accelerated by AgNPs. Similar to the present study, the protein adsorption of PVA hydrogel was reported to be fabricated with hydroxyapatite-chitosan [54], alginate/dextran [55], 1-Vinyl-3-butylimidazolium bromide and acrylamide [56,57], and retinol [15]. In the present study, the protein adsorption of PVA hydrogel depends on the surface energy, surface hydrophobicity chemical groups, and electrostatic interaction between the proteins and the hydrogel surface [58][59][60].…”

“…Mechanically stronger and tough hydrogels were fabricated to compensate for the load-bearing ability of cartilage replacement, artificial muscles, artificial organs, and contact lenses [ 7 ]. Several polymers, such as collagen [ 8 , 9 ], chitosan [ 10 , 11 , 12 ], alginate [ 13 , 14 ], poly(Vinyl Alcohol) (PVA) [ 15 ], polyLactic Acid (PLA) [ 16 ], silk fibroin [ 17 ], and cellulose [ 18 ] has been widely used in hydrogel fabrication for regenerative tissue purposes.…”

Research Advances in Mechanical Properties and Applications of Dual Network Hydrogels

“…The mechanical strength of single PVA hydrogel is still not up to the expected effect in some applications [ 33 , 34 ], so taking PVA as the first network and introducing the second network material to prepare double network hydrogel has become a research hotspot. Once tannic acid was introduced into PVA hydrogel and prepared high-strength hydrogel with dimethyl sulfoxide and water as solvents.…”

Biological scaffold as potential platforms for stem cells: Current development and applications in wound healing

“…Their findings highlighted that Mg 2+ released from the hydrogels bolstered the proliferation of BMSCs, whereas curcumin mitigated the damage to BMSCs from H 2 O 2 exposure and reduced apoptotic cells and nuclear condensation. Elango et al [ 176 ] created a PVA retinol hydrogel and discovered that the cell proliferation effect of the PVA hydrogel was significantly enhanced by incorporating 0.1 to 0.5 wt% of retinol. They also found that retinol promotes the differentiation of MSCs into neural cells.…”