Enzymatically Crosslinked Ulvan Hydrogels as Injectable Systems for Cell Delivery

Abstract

The present study represents a challenging effort aiming at converting the waste algal biomass\ud Ulva sp. into a source of high added value materials for biomedical applications by\ud means of a clean and sustainable process. Ulvan, a sulphated polysaccharide extracted from\ud Ulva sp., is investigated as in situ gelling material by using the enzyme horseradish peroxidase\ud as catalyst and H2O2 as reagent. The polysaccharide is successfully modified with tyramine\ud units in order to be susceptible to enzymatic recognition and\ud crosslinking through oxidative coupling. The times of gelation\ud of ulvan-tyramine solutions are optimized by adjusting\ud the amount of H2O2 used for ensuring their practical administration\ud as injectable systems. The rheological properties of\ud the polymeric solutions and the relevant hydrogels evaluated\ud under operative conditions prove to be suitable as injectable\ud in situ forming 3D-hydrogels. The preliminary biological\ud assays evidence the full cytocompatibility of the developed\ud hydrogels and their feasibility for being used as 3D-hydrogels\ud for cell delivery

A Short Review on the Valorization of Green Seaweeds and Ulvan: FEEDSTOCK for Chemicals and Biomaterials

“…Morelli et al [ 66 ]. prepared an in situ gelling material from ulvan by using enzymatically catalyzed crosslinking reactions.…”

“…Compared with chemical crosslinking, the enzymatic crosslinking is a straightforward, rapid, and clean method. The results obtained from biological investigations showed that the enzymatically crosslinked ulvan hydrogels are suitable used as vehicle for viable cells in the application of injectable cell delivery systems [ 66 ].…”

2.11 Polymers of Biological Origin ☆

“…12 The composition of ulvan is variable, but rhamnose, uronic acid, xylose and sulphate groups are the main components of this polymer. 13 Recently, ulvan has been suggested as a starting material for designing many structures, namely nanofibers, membranes, hydrogels and 3D porous materials [13][14] . The applicability of these matrices may range from wound dressing to drug delivery and cell delivery.…”

Development of ulvan‐based emulsions containing flavour and fragrances for food and cosmetic applications

“…To best of our knowledge the emulsifying properties of ulvan have been poorly investigated to date and such data are still limited to a few studies described by Shao et al that reported the surfactant activity and emulsion stabilization by ulvan extracted from Ulva fasciata as a function of the ionic strength of the dispersing medium . The exploitation of ulvan has been mainly directed at its use in biomedical applications due to the biocompatibility and wide range of biological activities displayed by the polysaccharide . The aim of our work was to investigate the feasibility of using ulvan as a novel emulsifying and stabilizing agent for the development of food and cosmetic formulations suitable for being implemented in label‐free consumer products.…”

“…[22][23][24] The exploitation of ulvan has been mainly directed at its use in biomedical applications due to the biocompatibility and wide range of biological activities displayed by the polysaccharide. [25][26][27][28] The aim of our work was to investigate the feasibility of using ulvan as a novel emulsifying and stabilizing agent for the development of food and cosmetic formulations suitable for being implemented in label-free consumer products. Among natural polysaccharides ulvan could represent a promising platform for materials in virtue of its unique physicochemical and biological properties and the possibility to isolate it from abundant algal biomasses through the development of sustainable processes.…”