Three-Dimensional Supermacroporous Carrageenan-Gelatin Cryogel Matrix for Tissue Engineering Applications

A tissue-engineered polymeric scaffold should provide suitable macroporous structure similar to that of extracellular matrix which can induce cellular activities and guide tissue regeneration. Cryogelation is a technique in which appropriate monomers or polymeric precursors frozen at sub-zero temperature leads to the formation of supermacroporous cryogel matrices. In this study carrageenan-gelatin (natural polymers) cryogels were synthesized by using glutaraldehyde and 1-ethyl-3-[3-dimethylaminopropyl] carbodiimide hydrochloride and N-hydroxysuccinimide (EDC-NHS) as crosslinking agent at optimum concentrations. Matrices showed large and interconnected pores which were in the range of 60–100 μm diameter. Unconfined compression analysis showed elasticity and physical integrity of all cryogels, as these matrices regained their original length after 90% compressing from the original size. Moreover Young's modulus was found to be in the range of 4–11 kPa for the dry cryogel sections. These cryogels also exhibited good in vitro degradation capacity at 37 °C within 4 weeks of incubation. Supermacroporous carrageenan-gelatin cryogels showed efficient cell adherence and proliferation of Cos-7 cells which was examined by SEM. PI nuclear stain was used to observe cell-matrix interaction. Cytotoxicity of the scaffolds was checked by MTT assay which showed that cryogels are biocompatible and act as a potential material for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.