Marsich Eleonora, Borgogna Massimiliano, Donati Ivan, Mozetic Pamela, Strand Berit L, Salvador Santiago Gomez, Vittur Franco, Paoletti Sergio
Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Macromolecular Chemistry, University of Trieste, Via Licio Giorgieri 1, I-34127 Trieste, Italy.
J Biomed Mater Res A. 2008 Feb;84(2):364-76. doi: 10.1002/jbm.a.31307.
A new bioactive scaffold was prepared from a binary polysaccharide mixture composed of a polyanion (alginate) and a polycation (a lactose-modified chitosan, chitlac). Its potential use for articular chondrocytes encapsulation and cartilage reconstructive surgery applications has been studied. The hydrogel combines the ability of alginate to act as a 3D supporting structure with the capability of the second component (chitlac) to provide interactions with porcine articular chondrocytes. Physico-chemical characterization of the scaffold was accomplished by gel kinetics and compression measurements and demonstrated that alginate-chitlac mixture (AC-mixture) hydrogels exhibit better mechanical properties when compared with sole alginate hydrogels. Furthermore, biochemical and biological studies showed that these 3D scaffolds are able to maintain chondrocyte phenotype and particularly to significantly stimulate and promote chondrocyte growth and proliferation. In conclusion, the present study can be considered as a first step towards an engineered, biologically active scaffold for chondrocyte in vitro cultivation, expansion, and cell delivery.
一种新型生物活性支架由聚阴离子（海藻酸盐）和聚阳离子（乳糖修饰壳聚糖，壳聚糖乳糖）组成的二元多糖混合物制备而成。已对其在关节软骨细胞包封和软骨重建手术应用中的潜在用途进行了研究。该水凝胶将海藻酸盐作为三维支撑结构的能力与第二种成分（壳聚糖乳糖）与猪关节软骨细胞提供相互作用的能力结合起来。通过凝胶动力学和压缩测量对支架进行了物理化学表征，结果表明，与单一海藻酸盐水凝胶相比，海藻酸盐-壳聚糖乳糖混合物（AC混合物）水凝胶具有更好的力学性能。此外，生化和生物学研究表明，这些三维支架能够维持软骨细胞表型，特别是能显著刺激和促进软骨细胞的生长和增殖。总之，本研究可被视为朝着用于软骨细胞体外培养、扩增和细胞递送的工程化生物活性支架迈出的第一步。
