Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-N-tert-butylacrylamide)- grafted hyaluronan as an injectable and self-assembling scaffold for cartilage tissue engineering

Kazuaki Muramatsu, Yuji Saito, Takuya Wada, Hiroyuki Hirai, Fujio Miyawaki

Division of Life Science and Engineering, School of Science and Engineering, Tokyo Denki University, Saitama, Japan.

DOI: 10.4236/jbise.2012.511079                

Abstract

Novel poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-N-tert-butylacrylamide)-grafted hyaluronan [P(NIPAAm-co-NtBAAm)-g-HA] has been developed as a modified derivative to improve phase-transition characteristics of PNIPAAm-g-HA, which has a lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of approximately 32°C. This promising self-assembling biomaterial has potential as an injectable scaffold for in situ cartilage tissue engineering. LCST of the P(NIPAAm-co-NtBAAm)-g-HA decreased to approximately 3.6°C compared to that of the original PNIPAAm-g-HA. This modification enabled self-assembly at body temperatures lower than the temperature of the parental PNIPAAm-g-HA molecule. Cytotoxicity and acute systemic toxicity assays revealed that P(NIPAAm-co-NtBAAm)-g-HA was not hazardous. The DNA content of chondrogenic differentiated mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) embedded in the gels was higher than that of biomaterial-free aggregates during the culture periods. Cartilage-related genes were also expressed in chondrogenic differentiated MSCs embedded in the P (NIPAAm-co-NtBAAm)-g-HA hydrogel. Specifically, an increased expression of SRY-related HMG box-containing gene 9 (Sox9) observed in the hydrogel group compared to controls. These data suggest that P(NIPAAm-co-NtBAAm)-g-HA is a promising injectable scaffold with thermoresponsive properties suitable for in situ cartilage tissue engineering.

Keywords

Thermally Responsive Material; Cartilage Tissue Engineering; Biocompatibility; Mesenchymal Cells

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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