Preparation of polyvinyl alcohol/lota-carrageenan scaffolds and its biocompatibility / 中国组织工程研究

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND:Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) hydrogel with similar porous structure and mechanical properties to the natural cartilage is very suitable for the repair of articular cartilage. However, the pure PVA hydrogel after lyophilization wil be accompanied by the shrinkage of the polymer network and the col apse of the pores, leading to the inhomogeneous performance of the material even in the state of re-swel ing. Addition of the active polymer wil increase the cel adhesion ability of PVA hydrogel. OBJECTIVE:To construct PVA/lota-carrageenan (l-CA) composite materials with different mass fractions of l-CA and evaluate the biocompatibility with vascular endothelial cel s. METHODS:PVA/l-CA composite films with different contents of l-CA were fabricated and then co-cultured with vascular endothelial cel s. Attachment, proliferation and morphological changes of vascular endothelial cel s on the composite were observed by scanning electron microscope and MTT assay to evaluate its biocompatibility. PVA/l-CA three-dimensional scaffold with different contents of l-CA were constructed, and hemolysis experiment was conducted according to the biological evaluation standards of medical devices, and the porosity and pore size were observed using scanning electron microscope. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:In vitro experimental results showed that the addition of l-CA could significantly increase the biological activity of PVA hydrogel, and promote the cel attachment and proliferation on the scaffold. The hemolysis rate of each experimental group was less than 5%(the accepted safety standard), suggesting that the composite materials were in accordance with the standard of medical devices for hemolysis experiment. These findings indicate that the composite scaffolds with 20%-30%l-CA possess the pore size suitable for cel growth and proliferation and the porosity beneficial for transportation of nutrients and metabolites, which can serve as an excel ent scaffold for tissue engineering.