Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA.
Department of Drug Chemistry and Technologies, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy.
Int J Biol Macromol. 2021 Jan 1;166:1292-1300. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2020.10.273. Epub 2020 Nov 5.
Cryogels are a particular type of hydrogels that possess great potential in both fields of drug delivery and tissue engineering. Based on these premises, the goal of this work was to develop a cytocompatible polymeric cryogel, which could be used as a spongy scaffold to promote the delivery of biomolecules. Precisely, the novel formulation was fabricated by combining dextran methacrylate (DEX-MA) and polyethylene glycol dimethacrylate (PEG-DMA) through radical polymerization at a temperature of -15 °C. The swelling, porosity, mechanical properties, and the drug release profile of vitamin B12 from the optimized cryogel were evaluated and compared to hydrogels fabricated at room temperature. The use of the cryo-gelation technique enabled the formation of scaffolds with improved swelling, increased interconnected porosity, and higher mechanical resistance than conventional hydrogels. The cryogels proved to be non-toxic and suitable carriers for the delivery of water-soluble biomolecules. Overall, the novel cytocompatible cryogel formulation could be used for biomedical applications that require the need of a macroporous scaffold for localized delivery of bioactive molecules.
水凝胶是一种特殊类型的凝胶，在药物输送和组织工程两个领域都具有巨大的潜力。基于这些前提，本工作的目的是开发一种细胞相容性的聚合物水凝胶，用作促进生物分子传递的海绵状支架。确切地说，通过在-15°C的温度下自由基聚合，将甲基丙烯酰化葡聚糖（DEX-MA）和聚乙二醇二甲基丙烯酸酯（PEG-DMA）结合起来制备新型制剂。对优化后的水凝胶的溶胀、孔隙率、机械性能和维生素 B12 的药物释放情况进行了评估，并与在室温下制备的水凝胶进行了比较。使用冷冻凝胶技术可以形成具有改善的溶胀、增加的互连通孔率和比常规水凝胶更高的机械强度的支架。水凝胶被证明是无毒的，并且是水溶性生物分子传递的合适载体。总的来说，新型细胞相容性水凝胶制剂可用于需要大孔支架进行生物活性分子局部传递的生物医学应用。
