Composite hydrogel-based materials with CaCO3 particles: preparation, long-term degradation and in vitro drug release

Abstract

Hydrogels are three-dimensional polymeric structures that contain a large amount of water and are cross-linked. They are made from natural and/or synthetic biocompatible polymers that can mimic the structure and properties of living tissue extracellular matrices. Because of this, hydrogel materials are widely studied and used as functional materials in biology and medicine. Among other applications, they are used to create biomaterials for transplantation and tissue engineering. However, hydrogels have several disadvantages, including a low capacity for biomineralization, poor biomechanical properties, and a weak ability to form a biointerface with hard tissues. These characteristics make hydrogel-based materials inappropriate for hard tissue engineering, especially bone regeneration. At present, efforts are being made to overcome these limitations by improving the biological activity and biocompatibility of hydrogels. This study presents an efficient approach to the mineralization of hydrogels based on the ultrasound-assisted synthesis of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) in the gellan gum hydrogel material. Composite hydrogel materials have been synthesized using gellan gum as a base with CaCO3 particles in the form of micron-sized vaterite crystals, uniformly distributed throughout the hydrogel matrix. The morphology and structure of the hydrogel materials obtained have been studied using scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction, with a particular focus on the structure and distribution of the CaCO3 inorganic phase. The long-term degradation of hydrogels in various model media, such as saline, SBF (simulated body fluid), and culture cell media (DMEM), was studied. The successful immobilization of biologically active substances, including tannic acid, vancomycin, and chondroitin sulfate, in hydrogels was achieved. The kinetics of the release of these substances from the hydrogels in the model media was also investigated. The proposed strategy for hydrogel mineralization has the potential to create functional composite materials that could be used in tissue engineering, particularly for bone regeneration.
This study was supported by scholarship of the President of the Russian Federation (grant number SP-727.2022.4

Speaker

Mariia Saveleva
Saratov State University
Russian Federation

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