Dey, K.; Sandrini, E.; Gobetti, A.; Ramorino, G.; Lopomo, N.F.; Tonello, S.; Sardini, E.; Sartore, L. Designing Biomimetic Conductive Gelatin-Chitosan–Carbon Black Nanocomposite Hydrogels for Tissue Engineering. Biomimetics2023, 8, 473.
Dey, K.; Sandrini, E.; Gobetti, A.; Ramorino, G.; Lopomo, N.F.; Tonello, S.; Sardini, E.; Sartore, L. Designing Biomimetic Conductive Gelatin-Chitosan–Carbon Black Nanocomposite Hydrogels for Tissue Engineering. Biomimetics 2023, 8, 473.
Dey, K.; Sandrini, E.; Gobetti, A.; Ramorino, G.; Lopomo, N.F.; Tonello, S.; Sardini, E.; Sartore, L. Designing Biomimetic Conductive Gelatin-Chitosan–Carbon Black Nanocomposite Hydrogels for Tissue Engineering. Biomimetics2023, 8, 473.
Dey, K.; Sandrini, E.; Gobetti, A.; Ramorino, G.; Lopomo, N.F.; Tonello, S.; Sardini, E.; Sartore, L. Designing Biomimetic Conductive Gelatin-Chitosan–Carbon Black Nanocomposite Hydrogels for Tissue Engineering. Biomimetics 2023, 8, 473.
Abstract
Conductive nanocomposites play a significant role in tissue engineering by providing a platform to support cell growth, tissue regeneration, and electrical stimulation. In this present study, a set of electroconductive nanocomposite hydrogels based on gelatin (G), chitosan (CH) and conductive carbon black (CB) was synthesized with the aim to develop novel biomaterials for tissue regeneration application. Incorporation of conductive carbon black (10, 15 and 20 wt %) significantly improved electrical conductivity and enhanced mechanical properties with the increased CB content. We employed an oversimplified unidirectional freezing technique to impart anisotropic morphology with interconnected porous architecture. An investigation into whether any anisotropic morphology affects the mechanical properties of hydrogel was conducted by performing compression and cyclic compression tests in each direction parallel and perpendicular to macroporous channels. Interestingly, nanocomposite with 10 % CB produced both anisotropic morphology and mechanical property, whereas anisotropic pore morphology diminished at higher CB concentration (15 and 20 %) imparting denser texture. Collectively, the nanocomposite hydrogels showed great structural stability as well as good mechanical stability and reversibility. Under repeated compressive cyclic at 50 % deformation, the nanocomposite hydrogels showed preconditioning, characteristic hysteresis, nonlinear elasticity, and toughness. Overall, the collective mechanical behavior resembled the mechanics of soft tissues. Electrical impedance associated to the hydrogels was studied in terms of modulus and phase in dry and wet condition. The electrical properties conducted in wet conditions, which is more physiologically relevant, showed low impedance at high frequencies due to capacitive currents. Overall, impedance of the nanocomposite hydrogels decreased with increased CB concentrations. These gelatin-chitosan–carbon black nanocomposite hydrogels show great promise for use as conducting substrates for the growth of electro-responsive cells in tissue engineering.
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
