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Published on: July 27, 2022
Preparation of collagen/hydroxyapatite/alendronate hybrid hydrogels as potential scaffolds for bone regeneration
Xin Ma1, Zhiwei He2, Fengxuan Han2
1Biomedical Polymers Laboratory, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Functional Polymer Design and Application, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215123, China; Department of Orthopaedics, The First Affiliated Hospital, Orthopaedic Institute, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215006, China.
Abstract:
Development of biomimetic scaffolds represents a promising direction in bone tissue engineering. In this study, we designed a two-step process to prepare a type of biomimetic hybrid hydrogels that were composed of collagen, hydroxyapatite (HAP) and alendronate (ALN), an anti-osteoporosis drug. First, water-soluble ALN-conjugated HAP (HAP-ALN) containing 4.0wt.% of ALN was synthesized by treating HAP particles with ALN. Hydrogels were then formed from HAP-ALN conjugate and collagen under physiological conditions using genipin (GNP) as the crosslinker. Depending on the ALN/collagen molar ratio and GNP concentration, the gelation time of hydrogels ranged from 5 to 37min. Notably, these hybrid hydrogels exhibited markedly improved mechanical property (storage modulus G'=38-187kPa), higher gel contents, and lower swelling ratios compared to the hydrogels prepared from collagen alone under similar conditions. Moreover, they showed tunable degradation behaviors against collagenase. The collagen/HAP-ALN hybrid hydrogels supported the adhesion and growth of murine MC3T3-E1 osteoblastic cells well. Such tough yet enzymatically degradable hybrid hydrogels hold potential as scaffolds for bone tissue engineering.
