Hybrid polymeric Hydrogel-based biomaterials with potential applications in regenerative medicine

Abstract

In the field of regenerative medicine, the use of biomaterials as scaffolds that provide structural integrity is key for tissue regeneration. In this context, hydrogels are considered a great option, due to their elastic properties and capacity to absorb large amounts of water while preserving their structure. Notably, both collagen and gelatin are considered good candidates for use due to their high biocompatibility. In particular, gelatin is a collagen derivative that has better biological properties at the expense of poorer mechanical properties. Therefore, the main objective of this work was the development and characterization of polymeric hydrogels based on collagen and gelatin. In this sense, hydrogels with different collagen/gelatin ratios were elaborated using cooling as the gelation method. Subsequently, different studies were carried out in order to evaluate their mechanical, thermal and microstructural properties, as well as their biocompatibility. The results showed that hydrogels formed from the mixture of collagen and gelatin retain, to a large extent, the good viscoelastic properties of collagen, while showing low levels of cytotoxicity and hemocompatibility similar to those obtained for gelatin. However, owing to the nature of the materials used, the thermal characteristics are not ideal for use in biomedicine, thus further studies are required to overcome these drawbacks.