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Irradiation Sterilized Gelatin–Water–Glycerol Ternary Gel as an Injectable Carrier for Bone Tissue Engineering
Author(s) -
Zhao Yantao,
Han Liwei,
Yan Jun,
Li Zhonghai,
Wang Fuli,
Xia Yang,
Hou Shuxun,
Zhong Hongbin,
Zhang Feimin,
Gu Ning
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
advanced healthcare materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.288
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 2192-2659
pISSN - 2192-2640
DOI - 10.1002/adhm.201600749
Subject(s) - gelatin , ternary operation , materials science , dynamic mechanical analysis , glycerol , irradiation , elastic modulus , self healing hydrogels , chemical engineering , biomaterial , composite material , biomedical engineering , polymer , polymer chemistry , chemistry , nanotechnology , organic chemistry , medicine , physics , computer science , nuclear physics , engineering , programming language
Injectable gelatin gels offer an attractive option for filling bone defects. The challenge is to fabricate gelatin gels with optimal gelation properties, which can be irradiation sterilized. Here, a gelatin–water–glycerol (GWG) gel is reported for use as a broad‐spectrum injectable carrier. This ternary gel is high in glycerol and low in water, and remains stable after gamma irradiation at doses (25 kGy). As an injectable gel, it remains a viscous solution at gelatin concentrations ≤2.0%, at room temperature. Its storage modulus increases dramatically and eventually exceeds the loss modulus around 46–50 °C, indicating a transition from a liquid‐like state to an elastic gel‐like state. This ternary gel ranges significantly in terms of storage modulus (12–1700 Pa) while demonstrating a narrow pH range (5.58–5.66), depending on the gelatin concentration. Therefore, it can be loaded with a variety of materials. It is highly cytocompatible compared with saline in vivo and culture media in vitro. When loaded with demineralized bone matrix, the composites show favorable injectability, and excellent osteogenesis performance, after irradiation. These features can be attributed to high hydrophilicity and fast degradability. These findings justify that this ternary gel is promising as an irradiation‐sterilized and universal injectable delivery system.