Fabrication, Rheological, and Compositional Characterization of Thermoresponsive Hydrogel from Cornea

Fabricating thermoresponsive hydrogels from decellularized tissues is a trending and promising approach to develop novel biomaterials for tissue engineering and therapeutic purposes. There are differences in the characteristics of the produced hydrogels related to the source tissue as well as the decellularization and solubilization protocols used. Detailed characterization of the hydrogels will support the efforts to optimize their application as biomaterials for tissue engineering and therapeutics. Here, we describe an optimized method for fabricating an in situ thermoresponsive hydrogel from decellularized porcine cornea extracellular matrix (COMatrix), and provide a detailed characterization of its structure, thermoresponsive rheological behavior (heat-induced sol-gel transition), as well as exploring its protein composition using proteomics. COMatrix forms a transparent gel (10-min time to gelation) after in situ curing with heat, characterized by alteration in light absorbance and rheological indexes. The rheological characterization of heat-formed COMatrix gel shows similar behavior to common biomaterials utilized in tissue engineering. The fibrillar structure of COMatrix gel was observed by scanning electron microscopy showing that the density of fibers attenuates in lower concentrations. Mass spectrometry-based proteomic analysis revealed that COMatrix hydrogel is rich in proteins with known regenerative properties such as lumican, keratocan, and laminins in addition to structural collagen proteins (Data is available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD020606). COMatrix hydrogel is a naturally driven biomaterial with favorable biomechanical properties and protein content with potential application as a therapeutic biomaterial in ocular regeneration and tissue engineering. Impact statement Fabrication and application of decellularized porcine corneal extracellular matrix is an emerging approach for corneal tissue engineering and regeneration. There are several protocols for decellularization of porcine cornea with various efficiencies. Here, we are presenting an optimized protocol for decellularization of porcine cornea followed by fabrication of a thermoresponsive hydrogel from the decellularized cornea matrix. Moreover, the fabricated hydrogel was rheologically and compositionally characterized as crucial features to be employed for further application of this hydrogel in corneal tissue engineering and regeneration.