Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 18, 2026
Fabrication of Size-Controlled and Emulsion-Free Chitosan-Genipin Microgels for Tissue Engineering Applications
Published on: April 13, 2022
Enrichment of thermosensitive chitosan hydrogels with glycerol and alkaline phosphatase for bone tissue engineering
Timothy E L Douglas1, Małgorzata Krok-Borkowicz2, Aleksandra Macuda2
1Polymer Chemistry and Biomaterials (PBM) Group, Department of Organic Chemistry, University of Ghent, Gent, Belgium.
Abstract:
Thermosensitive injectable chitosan hydrogels can be formed by neutralization of acidic chitosan solutions with sodium betaglycerophosphate (Na-β-GP) coupled with increasing temperature to body temperature. Such hydrogels have been considered for applications in bone regeneration. In this study, chitosan hydrogels were enriched with glycerol and the enzyme alkaline phosphatase (ALP) with a view to improving their suitability as materials for bone tissue engineering. Mineral formation was confirmed by infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and increases in the mass fraction of the hydrogel not consisting of water. Incorporation of ALP in hydrogels followed by incubation in a solution containing calcium ions and glycerophosphate, a substrate for ALP, led to formation of calcium phosphate within the hydrogel. MG-63 osteoblast-like cells were cultivated in eluates from hydrogels containing ALP and without ALP at different dilutions and directly on the hydrogel samples. Hydrogels containing ALP exhibited superior cytocompatibility to ALP-free hydrogels. These results pave the way for the use of glycerol- and ALP-enriched hydrogels in bone regeneration.
