Degradable and injectable poly(aldehyde guluronate) hydrogels for bone tissue engineering

Abstract

Degradable and injectable hydrogels may be ideal for bone-tissue engineering, especially in the craniofacial region because of the ease of access for injection. Alginate hydrogels potentially could be used as injectable cell delivery vehicles, but they exhibit a limited range of mechanical properties and uncontrollable disintegration time. Therefore we synthesized new hydrogels, composed of poly(aldehyde guluronate) (PAG) and adipic acid dihydrazide, that have a wide range of mechanical stiffness and controllable degradation rate. MC3T3-E1 cells adhered and multiplied on PAG hydrogels in vitro . When primary rat calvarial osteoblasts were mixed with PAG hydrogels and subcutaneously injected into the backs of mice, mineralized bone tissues were formed 9 weeks following implantation. These hydrogels may find wide utility as an injectable delivery system for bone precursor cells as well as for other applications in tissue engineering. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res 56: 228–233, 2001