Studying the Effect of Chondroitin Sulfate on the Physicochemical Properties of Novel Gelatin/Chitosan Biopolymer-Based Cryogels

Abstract

The application of biopolymers in tissue engineering is of a great interest due to of their inherent properties such as cell adhesion, biodegradation, bioavailability, and viscoelasticity. In this study, we synthesized cryogels based on biopolymers of gelatin, chitosan, and chondroitin sulfate by cryopolymerization and studied the effect of chondroitin sulfate on changing the physicochemical properties of cryogels such as pore size, pore volume, density, gel fraction, and biodegradation. A macroporous surface of the synthesized polymers has been investigated by SEM. The glass transition temperatures of the crosslinked cryogels, determined by the DSC method, were higher compared to that of the non-crosslinked cryogel used as a reference. The results of the MTT test showed that aqueous extracts of the prepared cryogels had no toxic effect on rat adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells. The research in this area is of great importance and provides new insights into novel, effective methods for obtaining biopolymers that can be used as carriers of cells.

Keywords

• cryogels
• gelatin
• chitosan
• chondroitin sulfate
• biopolymers
• cells