Cell-Laden Marine Gelatin Methacryloyl Hydrogels Enriched with Ascorbic Acid for Corneal Stroma Regeneration
Corneal pathologies from infectious or noninfectious origin have a significant impact on the daily lives of millions of people worldwide. Despite the risk of organ rejection or infection, corneal transplantation is currently the only effective treatment. Finding safe and innovative strategies is the...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Bioengineering |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5354/10/1/62 |
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| author | Ana L. Alves Ana C. Carvalho Inês Machado Gabriela S. Diogo Emanuel M. Fernandes Vânia I. B. Castro Ricardo A. Pires José A. Vázquez Ricardo I. Pérez-Martín Miguel Alaminos Rui L. Reis Tiago H. Silva |
| author_facet | Ana L. Alves Ana C. Carvalho Inês Machado Gabriela S. Diogo Emanuel M. Fernandes Vânia I. B. Castro Ricardo A. Pires José A. Vázquez Ricardo I. Pérez-Martín Miguel Alaminos Rui L. Reis Tiago H. Silva |
| author_sort | Ana L. Alves |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Corneal pathologies from infectious or noninfectious origin have a significant impact on the daily lives of millions of people worldwide. Despite the risk of organ rejection or infection, corneal transplantation is currently the only effective treatment. Finding safe and innovative strategies is the main goal of tissue-engineering-based approaches. In this study, the potential of gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) hydrogels produced from marine-derived gelatin and loaded with ascorbic acid (as an enhancer of the biological activity of cells) was evaluated for corneal stromal applications. Marine GelMA was synthesized with a methacrylation degree of 75%, enabling effective photocrosslinking, and hydrogels with or without ascorbic acid were produced, encompassing human keratocytes. All the produced formulations exhibited excellent optical and swelling properties with easy handling as well as structural stability and adequate degradation rates that may allow proper extracellular matrix remodeling by corneal stromal cells. Formulations loaded with 0.5 mg/mL of ascorbic acid enhanced the biological performance of keratocytes and induced collagen production. These results suggest that, in addition to marine-derived gelatin being suitable for the synthesis of GelMA, the hydrogels produced are promising biomaterials for corneal regeneration applications. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T13:33:51Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9312295009da4aa2b15e6bf06b612831 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2306-5354 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T13:33:51Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Bioengineering |
| spelling | doaj.art-9312295009da4aa2b15e6bf06b6128312023-11-30T21:14:56ZengMDPI AGBioengineering2306-53542023-01-011016210.3390/bioengineering10010062Cell-Laden Marine Gelatin Methacryloyl Hydrogels Enriched with Ascorbic Acid for Corneal Stroma RegenerationAna L. Alves0Ana C. Carvalho1Inês Machado2Gabriela S. Diogo3Emanuel M. Fernandes4Vânia I. B. Castro5Ricardo A. Pires6José A. Vázquez7Ricardo I. Pérez-Martín8Miguel Alaminos9Rui L. Reis10Tiago H. Silva113B’s Research Group, i3B’s—Research Institute on Biomaterials, Bisodegradables and Biomimetics, University of Minho, Headquarters of the European Institute of Excellence on Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, AvePark, Parque de Ciência e Tecnologia, Zona Industrial da Gandra, 4805-017 Guimarães, Portugal3B’s Research Group, i3B’s—Research Institute on Biomaterials, Bisodegradables and Biomimetics, University of Minho, Headquarters of the European Institute of Excellence on Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, AvePark, Parque de Ciência e Tecnologia, Zona Industrial da Gandra, 4805-017 Guimarães, Portugal3B’s Research Group, i3B’s—Research Institute on Biomaterials, Bisodegradables and Biomimetics, University of Minho, Headquarters of the European Institute of Excellence on Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, AvePark, Parque de Ciência e Tecnologia, Zona Industrial da Gandra, 4805-017 Guimarães, Portugal3B’s Research Group, i3B’s—Research Institute on Biomaterials, Bisodegradables and Biomimetics, University of Minho, Headquarters of the European Institute of Excellence on Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, AvePark, Parque de Ciência e Tecnologia, Zona Industrial da Gandra, 4805-017 Guimarães, Portugal3B’s Research Group, i3B’s—Research Institute on Biomaterials, Bisodegradables and Biomimetics, University of Minho, Headquarters of the European Institute of Excellence on Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, AvePark, Parque de Ciência e Tecnologia, Zona Industrial da Gandra, 4805-017 Guimarães, Portugal3B’s Research Group, i3B’s—Research Institute on Biomaterials, Bisodegradables and Biomimetics, University of Minho, Headquarters of the European Institute of Excellence on Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, AvePark, Parque de Ciência e Tecnologia, Zona Industrial da Gandra, 4805-017 Guimarães, Portugal3B’s Research Group, i3B’s—Research Institute on Biomaterials, Bisodegradables and Biomimetics, University of Minho, Headquarters of the European Institute of Excellence on Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, AvePark, Parque de Ciência e Tecnologia, Zona Industrial da Gandra, 4805-017 Guimarães, PortugalGroup of Recycling and Valorization of Waste Materials (REVAL), Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas (IIM-CSIC), C/Eduardo Cabello 6, CP36208 Vigo, SpainGroup of Food Biochemistry, Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas (IIM-CSIC), C/Eduardo Cabello 6, CP36208 Vigo, SpainDepartment of Histology and Tissue Engineering Group, Faculty of Medicine, University of Granada and Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria (ibs.GRANADA), E18016 Granada, Spain3B’s Research Group, i3B’s—Research Institute on Biomaterials, Bisodegradables and Biomimetics, University of Minho, Headquarters of the European Institute of Excellence on Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, AvePark, Parque de Ciência e Tecnologia, Zona Industrial da Gandra, 4805-017 Guimarães, Portugal3B’s Research Group, i3B’s—Research Institute on Biomaterials, Bisodegradables and Biomimetics, University of Minho, Headquarters of the European Institute of Excellence on Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, AvePark, Parque de Ciência e Tecnologia, Zona Industrial da Gandra, 4805-017 Guimarães, PortugalCorneal pathologies from infectious or noninfectious origin have a significant impact on the daily lives of millions of people worldwide. Despite the risk of organ rejection or infection, corneal transplantation is currently the only effective treatment. Finding safe and innovative strategies is the main goal of tissue-engineering-based approaches. In this study, the potential of gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) hydrogels produced from marine-derived gelatin and loaded with ascorbic acid (as an enhancer of the biological activity of cells) was evaluated for corneal stromal applications. Marine GelMA was synthesized with a methacrylation degree of 75%, enabling effective photocrosslinking, and hydrogels with or without ascorbic acid were produced, encompassing human keratocytes. All the produced formulations exhibited excellent optical and swelling properties with easy handling as well as structural stability and adequate degradation rates that may allow proper extracellular matrix remodeling by corneal stromal cells. Formulations loaded with 0.5 mg/mL of ascorbic acid enhanced the biological performance of keratocytes and induced collagen production. These results suggest that, in addition to marine-derived gelatin being suitable for the synthesis of GelMA, the hydrogels produced are promising biomaterials for corneal regeneration applications.https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5354/10/1/62marine biomaterialsgelatincodfishGelMAkeratocytescornea |
| spellingShingle | Ana L. Alves Ana C. Carvalho Inês Machado Gabriela S. Diogo Emanuel M. Fernandes Vânia I. B. Castro Ricardo A. Pires José A. Vázquez Ricardo I. Pérez-Martín Miguel Alaminos Rui L. Reis Tiago H. Silva Cell-Laden Marine Gelatin Methacryloyl Hydrogels Enriched with Ascorbic Acid for Corneal Stroma Regeneration Bioengineering marine biomaterials gelatin codfish GelMA keratocytes cornea |
| title | Cell-Laden Marine Gelatin Methacryloyl Hydrogels Enriched with Ascorbic Acid for Corneal Stroma Regeneration |
| title_full | Cell-Laden Marine Gelatin Methacryloyl Hydrogels Enriched with Ascorbic Acid for Corneal Stroma Regeneration |
| title_fullStr | Cell-Laden Marine Gelatin Methacryloyl Hydrogels Enriched with Ascorbic Acid for Corneal Stroma Regeneration |
| title_full_unstemmed | Cell-Laden Marine Gelatin Methacryloyl Hydrogels Enriched with Ascorbic Acid for Corneal Stroma Regeneration |
| title_short | Cell-Laden Marine Gelatin Methacryloyl Hydrogels Enriched with Ascorbic Acid for Corneal Stroma Regeneration |
| title_sort | cell laden marine gelatin methacryloyl hydrogels enriched with ascorbic acid for corneal stroma regeneration |
| topic | marine biomaterials gelatin codfish GelMA keratocytes cornea |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5354/10/1/62 |
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