Synthesis of Thermal Polymerizable Alginate-GMA Hydrogel for Cell Encapsulation

Abstract EN

Alginate is a negative ionic polysaccharide that is found abundantly in nature.

Calcium is usually used as a cross-linker for alginate.

However, calcium cross-linked alginate is used only for in vitro culture.

In the present work, alginate was modified with glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) to produce a thermal polymerizable alginate-GMA (AA-GMA) macromonomer.

The molecular structure and methacrylation (%DM) of the macromonomer were determined by 1H NMR.

After mixing with the correct amount of initiator, the AA-GMA aqueous solution can be polymerized at physiological temperature.

The AA-GMA hydrogels exhibited a three-dimensional porous structure with an average pore size ranging from 50 to 200 μm, directly depending on the macromonomer concentration.

Biocompatibility of the AA-GMA hydrogel was determined by in vivo muscle injection and cell encapsulation.

Muscle injection in vivo showed that the AA-GMA solution mixed with initiator could form a hydrogel in situ and had a mild inflammatory effect.

Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were encapsulated in the AA-GMA hydrogels in situ at 37°C.

Cell viability and proliferation were unaffected by macromonomer concentrations, which suggests that AA-GMA has a potential application in the field of tissue engineering, especially for myocardial repair.