iridoids and gamma-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane

Scaffolds based on gelatin (G) are considered promising for tissue engineering, able to mimic the natural extracellular matrix. G drawback is its poor structural consistency in wet conditions. Therefore, crosslinking is necessary to fabricate stable G scaffolds. In this work, a comparative study between the performance of two different crosslinkers, genipin (GP) and γ-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane (GPTMS), is presented. Flat membranes by solvent casting and porous crosslinked scaffolds by freeze-drying were prepared. Infrared spectroscopy and thermal analysis were applied to confirm G chain crosslinking. Moreover, GP and GPTMS increased the stability of G in aqueous media and improved the mechanical properties. Crosslinking reduced the wettability, especially in the case of G_GPTMS samples, due to the introduction of hydrophobic siloxane chains. Both G_GP and G_GPTMS scaffolds supported MG-63 osteoblast-like cell adhesion and proliferation.

Topics: Animals; Calorimetry, Differential Scanning; Cell Count; Cell Line; Cross-Linking Reagents; Elastic Modulus; Gelatin; Humans; Iridoid Glycosides; Iridoids; Materials Testing; Porosity; Silanes; Solubility; Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; Sus scrofa; Tissue Scaffolds; Wettability