Evaluation of egg white ovomucin-based porous scaffold as an implantable biomaterial for tissue engineering

Abstract

Studies have shown the technological and functional properties of ovomucin (OVN) in the food-agricultural industry. But research has yet to explore its potential as an implantable biomaterial for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. In this study we isolated OVN from egg white by isoelectric precipitation and fabricated scaffolds with tunable porosity by utilizing its foaming property. Gelatin a known biocompatible material was introduced to stabilize the foams, wherein different ratios of OVN and gelatin had a significant effect on the degree of porosity, pore size and stability of the formed hydrogels. The porous scaffolds were crosslinked with EDC resulting in stable scaffolds with prolonged degradation. Improved cell proliferation and adhesion of rat bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells were observed for OVN containing scaffolds. Although, scaffolds with 75% OVN showed decrease in cell proliferation for L929 fibroblast type of cells. Further biocompatibility assessment as implant material was determined by subcutaneous implantation in rats of selected scaffold. H&E staining showed reasonable vascularization over time and little evidence of severe fibrosis at the implant site. Persistent polarization of classically activated macrophage was not observed, potentially reducing inflammatory response, and showed increased expression of alternatively activated macrophage cells that is favorable for tissue repair. Analysis of IgE levels in rat serum after implantation indicated minimal and resolvable allergic response to the OVN implants. The results demonstrate OVN as an acceptable implant scaffold that could provide new opportunities as an alternative natural biocompatible and functional biomaterial in various biomedical applications. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 105B: 2107-2117, 2017.

Mucins as multifunctional building blocks of biomaterials

“…Ovomucins are known to have anti-viral, anti-tumor and immune stimulating properties. 106 A recent in vivo study demonstrated the suitability of using ovomucins as part of implantable materials by preparing an ovomucin-gelatin mix system, stabilized by crosslinking with 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide (EDC) 177 and implanting it in mice. The in vivo studies showed good infiltration of fibroblasts cells in the hydrogels, most likely due to the gelatin components.…”

Preliminary studies on the in vivo performance of various kinds of nanocellulose for biomedical applications

“…D (%) = 100 − (r/w) × 100Immunofluorescence staining was performed for each nanocellulose material after 3 months of post-injection following a published protocol. 24 The following primary antibodies were used to stain extracted slide sections: CD68-pan macrophages (1:50, Serotec, Raleigh, NC, USA), rabbit monoclonal CCR7-M1 (1:100, Epitomics, Burlingame, CA, USA), and goat polyclonal CD206 (1:100, Santa Cruz Biotech, Santa Cruz, CA, USA) to mark the pan macrophages, M1 and M2 macrophages, respectively. Corresponding secondary antibodies were Alexa FluorV R donkey anti-mouse 350 (Invitrogen), Alexa FluorV R goat antirabbit 568 (Invitrogen), and Alexa FluorV R donkey anti-goat 488 (Invitrogen).…”

Recent Advances in Applications of Bioactive Egg Compounds in Nonfood Sectors

“…OVM hydrogels have been prepared previously, utilizing their unique foaming property in preparing scaffolds of various porosities, along with gelatin, to maintain their pore size and stability ( Carpena et al, 2017 ). OVM scaffolds subcutaneously implanted in rats showed good adhesion of rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells with a lower incidence of fibrosis, vascularization, and activation of alternate macrophages.…”