Ionically cross-linked alginate hydrogels as tissue engineering scaffolds

Generation of living tissues through tissue engineering can be achieved via incorporation of cells into synthetic scaffolds designed to facilitate new tissue formation. Necessary characteristics of a scaffold include biocompatibility, high porosity with controllable pore size and interconnectivity, moldability, chemical and mechanical stability, and structural homogeneity. Hydrogels often possess many of the necessary characteristics and thus are favorable candidates for scaffolding. Alginate hydrogels are commonly made by ionically crosslinking with calcium ions from CaCl₂ or CaSO₄. These hydrogels are favored for their mild gel formation, however the gelation rate is rapid and uncontrollable (fast-gelation), resulting in varying crosslinking density throughout the gel. In this work, structurally homogeneous calcium alginate hydrogels were formed via a slow-gelation system that utilizes uniform mixing of CaCO₃ with sodium alginate solution, and the addition of slowly hydrolyzing D-gluconic acid lactone to slowly release calcium ions for crosslinking. Homogeneity and mechanical properties of these hydrogels were shown to be superior to those of fast-gelled hydrogels. Gelation rate was controlled through the incorporation of CaSO₄, and by varying total calcium content, polymer concentration and gelation temperature. Control over mechanical properties and diffusivity was demonstrated in the homogeneous hydrogels by adjusting compositional variables. Consistent control over solute diffusivity through gel discs reflected the structural homogeneity of the gels. To overcome the instability of ionically crosslinked gels in tissue culture medium, a method was developed to control the hydrogel dimensions by adjusting the ionic concentration of the medium. Stability of the hydrogels in this controlled environment was characterized through swelling experiments and mechanical testing. To provide for scaffold degradation and thereby promote tissue growth, alginate lyase was incorporated into the system induce enzymatically controlled alginate degradation. This alginate hydrogel system is novel in that cells are directly and uniformly incorporated into a hydrogel with controlled gelation rate and material properties. The injectable alginate hydrogels can be molded into complex shapes or injected into the body to avoid invasive surgery. Further, the ability to tailor their gelation rate, material properties and degradation enable these alginate hydrogels to be used for a variety of biomedical applications including drug or biofactor delivery.