INTRODUCTION

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death worldwide. It has been shown that cell therapy is not enough for regenerative purposes. Thus, the development of materials with therapeutic and antioxidant effects could improve tissue regeneration after transplantation and decrease inflammation, resulting in better treatment outcomes. A low-cost method has been proposed to functionalize gelatin with antioxidant molecules and its subsequent photopolymerization for the formation of hydrogels that can encapsulate different cell types to promote cardiac regeneration.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Chemical synthesis: A new synthetic route has been developed to introduce molecules with antioxidant capacity into the gelatin via peptidic bonding.  

Hydrogel characterization: These have been NMR, atomic absorption, ninhydrin assays, rheometry for mechanical characterization, and photopolymerization tests.

Cell culture assays: The cell types used were HeLa, human mesenchymal stem cells and cardiomyocytes derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs). The viability assays employed were AlamarBlue and LIVE/DEAD tests, and we also have studied the antioxidant effect of the compounds in the different cell types. hiPSC-cardiomyocytes were obtained in-house by differentiation through a biphasic modulation of the Wnt pathway, followed by lactate-based metabolic selection.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

Characterization of the new molecules not only confirms the acquisition of the desired functionality, but also gives insight to their structure. The synthesized gelatin derivatives are capable of photopolymerizing to form hydrogels, even without concurrence of photoreactive groups. The new hydrogels do not only form a 3D environment for cell culture, but also provide biological function by containing antioxidant properties.