Chronic wounds are characterized by an increased bacterial presence, alkaline pH, and excessive wound drainage. Hydrogel biomaterials composed of the carbohydrate polymer chitosan are advantageous for wound healing applications because of their innate antimicrobial and hemostatic properties. Here, genipin-cross-linked–chitosan hydrogels were synthesized and characterized, and their in vitro and in vivo performances were evaluated as a viable wound dressing. Characterization studies demonstrate that the developed chitosan–genipin hydrogels were able to neutralize an environmental pH, while averaging ∼230% aqueous solution uptake, demonstrating their use as a perfusive wound dressing. Bacterial activity studies demonstrate the hydrogels’ ability to hinder Escherichia coli growth by ∼70%, while remaining biocompatible in vitro to fibroblast and keratinocyte cells. Furthermore, chitosan–genipin hydrogels promote an enhanced immune response and cellular proliferation in induced pressure wounds in mice. All together, these results reflect the potential of the developed hydrogels to be used as a proactive wound dressing.

Coordinated investigations into the interactions between biologically mimicking (biomimetic) material constructs and stem cells advance the potential for the regeneration and possible direct replacement of diseased cells and tissues. Any clinically relevant therapies will require the development and optimization of methods that mass produce fully functional cells and tissues. Despite advances in the design and synthesis of biomaterial scaffolds, one of the biggest obstacles facing tissue engineering is understanding how specific extracellular cues produced by biomaterial scaffolds influence the proliferation and differentiation of various cell sources. Matrix elasticity is one such tailorable property of synthetic scaffolds that is known to differ between tissues. Here, we investigate the interactions between an elastically tailorable polyethylene glycol (PEG)-based hydrogel platform and human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs). For these studies, two different hydrogel compositions with elastic moduli in the ranges of 50–60 kPa and 8–10 kPa were implemented. Our findings demonstrate that the different elasticities in this platform can produce changes in hMSC morphology and proliferation, indicating that the platform can be implemented to produce changes in hMSC behavior and cell state for a broad range of tissue engineering and regenerative applications. Furthermore, we show that the platform’s different elasticities influence stem cell differentiation potential, particularly when promoting stem cell differentiation toward cell types from tissues with stiffer elasticity. These findings add to the evolving and expanding library of information on stem cell–biomaterial interactions and opens the door for continued exploration into PEG-based hydrogel scaffolds for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine applications.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract