Evaluation of a mPEG-polyester-based hydrogel as cell carrier for chondrocytes

Temperature-sensitive hydrogels are attractive alternatives to porous cell-seeded scaffolds and is minimally invasive through simple injection and in situ gelling. In this study, we compared the performance of two types of temperature-sensitive hydrogels on chondrocytes encapsulation for the use of tissue engineering of cartilage. The two hydrogels are composed of methoxy poly(ethylene glycol)- poly(lactic-co-valerolactone) (mPEG-PVLA), and methoxy poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(lactic- co-glycolide) (mPEG-PLGA). Osmolarity and pH were optimized through the manipulation of polymer concentration and dispersion medium. Chondrocytes proliferation in mPEG-PVLA hydrogels was observed as well as accumulation of GAGs and collagen. On the other hand, chondrocytes encapsulated in mPEG-PLGA hydrogels showed low viability and chondrogenesis. Also, mPEG-PVLA hydrogel, which is more hydrophobic, retained physical integrity after 14 days while mPEG-PLGA hydrogel underwent full degradation due to faster hydrolysis rate and more pronounced acidic self-catalyzed degradation. The mPEG-PVLA hydrogel can be furthered tuned by manipulation of molecular weights to obtain hydrogels with different swelling and degradation characteristics, which may be useful as producing a selection of hydrogels compatible with different cell types. Taken together, these results demonstrate that mPEG-PVLA hydrogels are promising to serve as three-dimensional cell carriers for chondrocytes and potentially applicable in cartilage tissue engineering.