Center for Joint Surgery, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University (Army Medical University), Chongqing, China.
Department of Orthopedics, 920th Hospital of Joint Logistics Support Force, Kunming, China.
Biomed Mater Eng. 2022;33(6):515-523. doi: 10.3233/BME-221404.
Cartilage tissue engineering is a promising way to repair cartilage defects. Different materials have been applied in the preparation of cartilage hydrogels, but all with various disadvantages.
The aim of this study was to prepare cartilage hydrogel using type II collagen, chondroitin sulfate and hyaluronic acid, to explore their gelation effect and compressive strength, and to analyze the feasibility of their application in cartilage tissue engineering.
Type II collagen (Col II), hyaluronic acid (HA) and chondroitin sulfate (CS) were mixed in a certain proportion to prepare gel scaffolds; changes in chemical groups were detected by Fourier transform infrared. After the hydrogel was prepared, its compressive strength was measured. Umbilical cord stem cells were co-cultured with hydrogel scaffolds to observe its cytocompatibility and analyze whether stem cells had cellular activity during co-culture; histological staining was applied to observe the hydrogel loaded with stem cells.
Cartilage hydrogels were successfully prepared with good compressive strength, and Fourier transform infrared analysis showed that Schiff base reaction occurred during the preparation process and tight chemical cross-linking was formed. The results of umbilical cord stem cell co-culture showed that the hydrogel had good cytocompatibility and the stem cells had good activity in the hydrogel.
Cartilage hydrogels with stable structures were successfully prepared and had good compressive strength. Hydrogel scaffold could provide a suitable living environment for umbilical cord stem cells, so that they maintain normal cell morphology and activity, and has a good application potential in cartilage tissue engineering.
软骨组织工程是修复软骨缺损的一种很有前途的方法。不同的材料已被应用于软骨水凝胶的制备，但都存在各种缺点。
本研究旨在利用Ⅱ型胶原蛋白、硫酸软骨素和透明质酸制备软骨水凝胶，探讨其凝胶效果和压缩强度，并分析其在软骨组织工程中的应用可行性。
将Ⅱ型胶原蛋白（Col II）、透明质酸（HA）和硫酸软骨素（CS）按一定比例混合制备凝胶支架；通过傅里叶变换红外光谱检测化学基团的变化。制备水凝胶后，测量其压缩强度。将脐带干细胞与水凝胶支架共培养，观察其细胞相容性，并分析共培养过程中干细胞是否具有细胞活性；对负载干细胞的水凝胶进行组织学染色观察。
成功制备了具有良好压缩强度的软骨水凝胶，傅里叶变换红外分析表明，制备过程中发生了席夫碱反应，形成了紧密的化学交联。脐带干细胞共培养的结果表明，水凝胶具有良好的细胞相容性，干细胞在水凝胶中有良好的活性。
成功制备了结构稳定、具有良好抗压强度的软骨水凝胶。水凝胶支架可为脐带干细胞提供适宜的生存环境，使其保持正常的细胞形态和活性，在软骨组织工程中有良好的应用潜力。
