Glycosaminoglycan-Inspired Biomaterials for the Development of Bioactive Hydrogel Networks

Abstract

Glycosaminoglycans (GAG) are long, linear polysaccharides that display a wide range of relevant biological roles. Particularly, in the extracellular matrix (ECM) GAG specifically interact with other biological molecules, such as growth factors, protecting them from proteolysis or inhibiting factors. Additionally, ECM GAG are partially responsible for the mechanical stability of tissues due to their capacity to retain high amounts of water, enabling hydration of the ECM and rendering it resistant to compressive forces. In this review, the use of GAG for developing hydrogel networks with improved biological activity and/or mechanical properties is discussed. Greater focus is given to strategies involving the production of hydrogels that are composed of GAG alone or in combination with other materials. Additionally, approaches used to introduce GAG-inspired features in biomaterials of different sources will also be presented.

Sustained delivery of 17β-estradiol by human amniotic extracellular matrix (HAECM) scaffold integrated with PLGA microspheres for endometrium regeneration

“…Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) are a class of long unbranched periodic negatively charged polysaccharides found in ECM that take part in many biological processes such as anticoagulation, angiogenesis and tissue regeneration (Walimbe & Panitch, 2019 ; Bojarski et al., 2020 ). They are partially responsible for the mechanical stability of tissues due to their capacity to retain a large quantity of water, enabling hydration of the ECM and rendering it resistant to compressive forces (Neves et al., 2020 ). Results of the GAGs and collagen assays indicated that the decellularization process did not lead to loss of collagen or GAG concentrations of the tissues.…”

Advances in Growth Factor Delivery for Bone Tissue Engineering

“…Nonhealing chronic bone tissue defects represent a major problem in healthcare. Despite numerous reports [ 1 , 2 ], there is still a growing need to identify new high-impact compounds for bone tissue regeneration applications. A current approach for bone tissue engineering is based on scaffolds that release growth factors (GFs) required for bone regeneration.…”

Peptide-Based Hydrogels and Nanogels for Delivery of Doxorubicin

“…Hydrogels and nanogels can be prepared using synthetic [26][27][28] or natural polymers [29][30][31][32] or peptide sequences. 33,34 With respect to polymers, peptides exhibit several advantages such as high biocompatibility, biodegradability and tunability.…”