Preparation and characterization of alginate/gelatin blend films for cardiac tissue engineering

TLDR

The study prepared alginate/gelatin blends of varying ratios to combine the advantages of these natural polymers for cardiac tissue engineering. Characterization showed good miscibility and interactions, higher swelling and degradation in PBS, better stability in culture medium, and that blends with >60 % gelatin—especially the 20:80 ratio—supported robust C2C12 proliferation and differentiation, making it a promising scaffold for myocardial tissue engineering. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., J Biomed Mater Res, 2009.

Abstract

Abstract The aim of this work was the preparation of blends based on alginate and gelatin, with different weight ratio, to combine the advantages of these two natural polymers for application in cardiac tissue engineering. The physicochemical characterization, performed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis, revealed a good miscibility and the presence of interactions among the functional groups of pure biopolymers. Concerning the swelling and degradation tests, performed in different solutions simulating body fluids, both swelling degree and weight losses were higher in phosphate buffer saline (PBS) and for the blends with a higher content of gelatin. These results indicated a better stability of the blends in cell culture medium than in PBS and suggested a mainly hydrolytic degradation process. Cell culture tests, carried out using C2C12 myoblasts, showed a good cell proliferation for all the blends containing more than 60% of gelatin, with the alginate/gelatin 20:80 showing the best response. The same blend was the only one on which cell differentiation was observed. The results obtained in the biological characterization allow to select the alginate/gelatin 20:80 blend as a suitable material to prepare scaffolds for myocardial tissue engineering. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res, 2009