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Enzymatically Crosslinked Ulvan Hydrogels as Injectable Systems for Cell Delivery
Author(s) -
Morelli Andrea,
Betti Margherita,
Puppi Dario,
Bartoli Cristina,
Gazzarri Matteo,
Chiellini Federica
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
macromolecular chemistry and physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.57
H-Index - 112
eISSN - 1521-3935
pISSN - 1022-1352
DOI - 10.1002/macp.201500353
Subject(s) - self healing hydrogels , horseradish peroxidase , tyramine , chemistry , polysaccharide , reagent , peroxidase , chemical engineering , polymer chemistry , enzyme , organic chemistry , biochemistry , engineering
The present study represents a challenging effort aiming at converting the waste algal biomass Ulva sp. into a source of high added value materials for biomedical applications by means of a clean and sustainable process. Ulvan, a sulphated polysaccharide extracted from Ulva sp., is investigated as in situ gelling material by using the enzyme horseradish peroxidase as catalyst and H 2 O 2 as reagent. The polysaccharide is successfully modified with tyramine units in order to be susceptible to enzymatic recognition and crosslinking through oxidative coupling. The times of gelation of ulvan‐tyramine solutions are optimized by adjusting the amount of H 2 O 2 used for ensuring their practical administration as injectable systems. The rheological properties of the polymeric solutions and the relevant hydrogels evaluated under operative conditions prove to be suitable as injectable in situ forming 3D‐hydrogels. The preliminary biological assays evidence the full cytocompatibility of the developed hydrogels and their feasibility for being used as 3D‐hydrogels for cell delivery.