Advances in modulating mechanical properties of gelatin-based hydrogel in tissue engineering

Abstract

In the last two decades, gelatin-based hydrogels have been widely used as tissue engineering scaffolds due to their excellent biocompatibility, biodegradability, easy processability, transparency, non-toxicity, and reasonable structural similarity to the natural extracellular matrix (ECM). However, intrinsic low mechanical properties of gelatin are not structurally and mechanically suitable to support cell growth and proliferation. That's why various crosslinking strategies including physical, chemical, enzymatic and combination of them as well as networking patterns including double network, interpenetrating network and nano reinforcing mechanism have been utilized to enhance the structural stability and mechanical integrity of gelatin. In this review, the advances in modulating the mechanical properties of gelatin-based hydrogels for the design and development of structurally stable scaffolds for tissue engineering are discussed. The optimized crosslinking parameters with the adequate mechanical properties of gelatin-based hydrogels are reviewed. Gelatin-based scaffolds for a wide range of tissue engineering applications, such as bone, cartilage, cardiac, skin, and nerve tissue engineering are also outlined. Lastly, current challenges and future perspectives in this research field are presented.

Synthesis and Physicochemical Characterization of Gelatine-Based Biodegradable Aerogel-like Composites as Possible Scaffolds for Regenerative Medicine

“…However, while collagen is an expensive material that can also induce immunogenic responses, gelatine is a low-cost collagen derivative [38] which can provide hydrogels that have been used in the vascularization of engineered tissues without triggering undesired immunogenic responses. Unfortunately, both collagen and gelatine have demonstrated modest mechanical properties, such as low stiffness and a high biodegradability rate, which limit their use in the preparation of efficient scaffolds for TE [39][40][41][42][43][44]. Chemical reticulations, promoted by different crosslinking agents, represent a successful approach to addressing the mechanical issues of collagen and gelatine.…”