Cytotoxicity evaluation of gelatin sponges prepared with different cross-linking agents

Abstract

Gelatin is a natural polymer used in pharmaceutical and medical applications, especially in the production of biocompatible and biodegradable wound dressings and drug delivery systems. Gelatin granules hydrate, swell and solubilize in water, and rapidly degrade in vivo. The durability of these materials could, however, be prolonged by cross-linking by aldehydes, carbodiimides, and aldose sugars, but the biocompatibility of collagenous biomaterials is profoundly influenced by the nature and extent of cross-linking. In this study, gelatin sponges were prepared by using various cross-linkers such as glutaraldehyde (GA), 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-carbodiimide hydrochloride (EDAC), and D-fructose. The effects of the type and the amount of cross-linker on thermal and mechanical properties, stability, and cytotoxicity were investigated. The mechanical analysis data showed that an increase in the amount of GA in the sponge structures caused a slight increase in the modulus of elasticity but had almost no effect on the tensile strength. Increase in the EDAC concentration produced a maximum in the modulus of elasticity and tensile strength values. The stability of the sponges and the time required for complete degradation in aqueous media increased in parallel with the cross-linker content. In vitro studies carried out with fibroblast cells demonstrated a higher cell viability for the samples cross-linked with low concentrations of GA than for those cross-linked with EDAC.

Digital Image Correlation for Improved Detection of Basal Cell Carcinoma

“…As expected, the stiffness of the gelatin samples increases with increasing concentra- tion and increasing Bloom number. This data is in agreement with previous studies indicating Young's modulus for gelatin is between 2 and 900 kPa depending upon concentration [22,25,32,33]. We were able to prepare gelatin with stiffnesses between 7 and 262 kPa to suitably simulate the stiffness ratio of BCC to healthy skin.…”

“…Bloom number is a standard measure of the gelatin strength [21]. Due to its biocompatibility and its variability of mechanical properties, gelatin has been used to simulate many tissues [22][23][24][25]. Pigskin is also a good simulant for human skin since the mechanical properties of pigskin are similar to human skin [26].…”

The pro-angiogenic characteristics of a cross-linked gelatin matrix

“…Multiple manipulations of its physical and chemical features have been reported [20][21][22]. Though gelatin sponges have been employed in a variety of studies to test pro-and anti-angiogenic agents [23,24], as a carrier matrix for endothelial and non-endothelial cells [25][26][27], or as hemostatic sponges [28,29], to our knowledge no one has attempted to use gelatin foams as pro-angiogenic scaffolds to enhance nerve regeneration. To achieve this goal, we employed specific gelatin fractions in conjunction with a defined cross-linking and foam production procedure.…”

Potential doxorubicin delivery system based on magnetic gelatin microspheres crosslinked with sugars

“…Attributable to the excellent biocompatibility and biodegradability [2,3] , gelatin has been widely used in biomedical materials for controlled drug release. In this application, can be found gelatin in different forms: films [4][5][6] , disks [7] , hydrogels [8,9] , sponges [10] and frequently microspheres [7,9,[11][12][13][14] . Microspheres are usually prepared by water-in-oil emulsion.…”

“…Most of these crosslinking agents can cause some cytotoxic effects because of unreacted fractions [7] . To avoid undesirable reactions, some studies have investigated the use of sugars as crosslinking agents [7,10,11,20] . Among the studied sugars, calls our attention the fact that the researchs conclude that sucrose is a crosslinking agent able to significantly reduce the gelatin water solubility.…”