Facile Fabrication of Transparent and Opaque Albumin Methacryloyl Gels with Highly Improved Mechanical Properties and Controlled Pore Structures.
Mengdie XuNabila MehwishBae Hoon LeePublished in: Gels (Basel, Switzerland) (2022)
For porous protein scaffolds to be employed in tissue-engineered structures, the development of cost-effective, macroporous, and mechanically improved protein-based hydrogels, without compromising the original properties of native protein, is crucial. Here, we introduced a facile method of albumin methacryloyl transparent hydrogels and opaque cryogels with adjustable porosity and improved mechanical characteristics via controlling polymerization temperatures (room temperature and -80 °C). The structural, morphological, mechanical, and physical characteristics of both porous albumin methacryloyl biomaterials were investigated using FTIR, CD, SEM, XRD, compression tests, TGA, and swelling behavior. The biodegradation and biocompatibility of the various gels were also carefully examined. Albumin methacryloyl opaque cryogels outperformed their counterpart transparent hydrogels in terms of mechanical characteristics and interconnecting macropores. Both materials demonstrated high mineralization potential as well as good cell compatibility. The solvation and phase separation owing to ice crystal formation during polymerization are attributed to the transparency of hydrogels and opacity of cryogels, respectively, suggesting that two fully protein-based hydrogels could be used as visible detectors/sensors in medical devices or bone regeneration scaffolds in the future.
Keyphrases
- tissue engineering
- drug delivery
- room temperature
- hyaluronic acid
- protein protein
- bone regeneration
- extracellular matrix
- drug release
- amino acid
- high resolution
- single cell
- ionic liquid
- physical activity
- highly efficient
- risk assessment
- mass spectrometry
- molecular dynamics
- small molecule
- reduced graphene oxide
- low cost