In situ graphene oxide-gelatin hydrogels with enhanced mechanical property for tissue adhesive and regeneration

Abstract

Extracellular matrix (ECM) is playing a critical role which is component of mammalian tissue that provide structural support to cells. In addition, ECM act as a local depot for growth factors that control cell phenotype and differentiation. In this regard, scaffold that mimicking the ECM structure is important to growth or wound healing process. Gelatin is natural polymer and derived from collagen which is a major component of ECM. Using gelatin as an ECM mimicking structure has advantage of providing three-dimensional growth or supporting to regulate the cell behavior, proliferation, migration, cell survival, and differentiation. In this study, we developed enzyme-mediated crosslinking gelatin-based hydrogels with robust mechanical property to mimicking ECM and effectively attach to the surrounding tissue with high adhesive property. The effect of different concentration of graphene oxide (GO) on the physico-chemical properties of gelatin hydrogels were investigated, particularly tissue adhesion strength. In vitro proteolytic degradation behavior and human dermal fibroblast proliferation study confirmed the hydrogels were biodegradable and promote cell proliferation. Overall, we suggest that GO incorporated gelatin hydrogels with additional interfacial interactions, showing a promising potential as an injectable tissue adhesive.

Keywords: ECM mimicking structure; Injectable hydrogels; Regenerative medicine; Tissue adhesive; Tissue engineering; Wound closure.