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Gels
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Advances in Hydrogels for Tissue Engineering
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Advances in Hydrogels for Tissue Engineering

A special issue of Gels (ISSN 2310-2861). This special issue belongs to the section "Gel Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2024 | Viewed by 5286

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Jesús Chato-Astrain

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Tissue Engineering Group, Department of Histology, School of Medicine, University of Granada, Avenida de la Investigación 11, 18016 Granada, Spain
2. Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibs. Granada, 18012 Granada, Spain
Interests: tissue engineering; biomedicine; histology; hydrogels; pathological models; biomaterials; peripheral nerve regeneration; cancer models
Dr. Óscar-Darío García-García

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Tissue Engineering Group, Department of Histology, School of Medicine, University of Granada, Avenida de la Investigación 11, 18016 Granada, Spain
2. Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibs. Granada, 18012 Granada, Spain
Interests: tissue engineering; biomedicine; histology; hydrogels; decellularization; biomaterials; peripheral nerve regeneration; 3D printing; intraluminal fillers
Dr. Marwa El Soury

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Peripheral Nerve Regeneration Group, Department of Clinical and Biological Sciences, Neuroscience Institute Cavalieri Ottolenghi (NICO), University of Torino, 10043 Orbassano, Italy
Interests: molecular biology; schwann cell culture; human iPSC; tissue engineering; nerve morphometric analysis; decellularization; biomaterials; intraluminal fillers; peripheral nerve regeneration
Dr. Mohsen Janmaleki

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
BioMEMS and Bioinspired Microfluidic Laboratory, Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Schulich School of Engineering, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada
Interests: biomedical instrumentation; tissue engineering; electrical & electronics engineering; material characterization; cell culture; data analysis; cancer; nanofabrication; cancer diagnostics; instrumentation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Tissue engineering and so-called advanced therapy medicinal products offer groundbreaking new opportunities for the treatment and understanding of disease and injuries. Over the last few decades, there have been tremendous advances in the generation of new tissue models that are increasingly biomimetic and functional. Manufacturing techniques usually combine biomimetic materials, patterning methods, bioactive chemical molecules, and cells to generate new therapeutic substitutes or disease models.

In this context, hydrogels have been postulated as one of the biomaterials that are most faithfully capable of simulating the native extracellular matrix of tissues. The high hydration rate of these polymeric scaffolds provides the ideal supramolecular microenvironment for cell survival, proliferation, communication, and differentiation. This is why different techniques have been focused on the improvement and customization of the mechanical and biological properties of these scaffolds. This fact opens new horizons for the possibility of generating functional hydrogels with tunable structures and properties.

Due to the hydration and diffusion control of the 3D structure of hydrogels, they have also been used as drug delivery systems, loading the supportive matrix with different types of nanoparticles, responsive molecules, and a large number of functional elements.

This Special Issue aims to collect original comprehensive reviews and research articles focused on hydrogel manufacturing for tissue engineering applications, which will be of interest to the entire scientific community.

We invite you to share your results in this field through this Special Issue.

Dr. Jesús Chato-Astrain
Dr. Óscar-Darío García-García
Dr. Marwa El Soury
Dr. Mohsen Janmaleki
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Gels is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • tissue engineering
  • hydrogels
  • regenerative medicine
  • polymers
  • 3D bioprinting
  • therapeutic hydrogels
  • self-assembly
  • stimuli-responsive hydrogels

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 17859 KiB  
Article
A Novel In Vitro Pathological Model for Studying Neural Invasion in Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer
by Paula Ávila-Fernández, Miguel Etayo-Escanilla, David Sánchez-Porras, Cristina Blanco-Elices, Fernando Campos, Víctor Carriel, Óscar Darío García-García and Jesús Chato-Astrain
Gels 2024, 10(4), 252; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels10040252 - 08 Apr 2024
Viewed by 700
Abstract
Neural Invasion (NI) is a key pathological feature of cancer in the colonization of distant tissues, and its underlying biological mechanisms are still scarcely known. The complex interactions between nerve and tumor cells, along with the stroma, make it difficult to reproduce this [...] Read more.
Neural Invasion (NI) is a key pathological feature of cancer in the colonization of distant tissues, and its underlying biological mechanisms are still scarcely known. The complex interactions between nerve and tumor cells, along with the stroma, make it difficult to reproduce this pathology in effective study models, which in turn has limited the understanding of NI pathogenesis. In this study, we have designed a three-dimensional model of NI squamous cell carcinoma combining human epidermoid carcinoma cells (hECCs) with a complete peripheral nerve segment encapsulated in a fibrine-agarose hydrogel. We recreated two vital processes of NI: a pre-invasive NI model in which hECCs were seeded on the top of the nerve-enriched stroma, and an invasive NI model in which cancer cells were immersed with the nerve in the hydrogel. Histological, histochemical and immunohistochemical analyses were performed to validate the model. Results showed that the integration of fibrin-agarose advanced hydrogel with a complete nerve structure and hECCs successfully generated an environment in which tumor cells and nerve components coexisted. Moreover, this model correctly preserved components of the neural extracellular matrix as well as allowing the proliferation and migration of cells embedded in hydrogel. All these results suggest the suitability of the model for the study of the mechanisms underlaying NI. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Hydrogels for Tissue Engineering)
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17 pages, 3531 KiB  
Article
Functionalized Gelatin/Polysaccharide Hydrogels for Encapsulation of Hepatocytes
by Christian Willems, Fangdi Qi, Marie-Luise Trutschel and Thomas Groth
Gels 2024, 10(4), 231; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels10040231 - 28 Mar 2024
Viewed by 765
Abstract
Liver diseases represent a considerable burden to patients and healthcare systems. Hydrogels play an important role in the engineering of soft tissues and may be useful for embedding hepatocytes for different therapeutic interventions or the development of in vitro models to study the [...] Read more.
Liver diseases represent a considerable burden to patients and healthcare systems. Hydrogels play an important role in the engineering of soft tissues and may be useful for embedding hepatocytes for different therapeutic interventions or the development of in vitro models to study the pathogenesis of liver diseases or testing of drugs. Here, we developed two types of hydrogels by crosslinking hydrazide-functionalized gelatin with either oxidized dialdehyde hyaluronan or alginate through the formation of hydrazone bonds. Gel formulations were studied through texture analysis and rheometry, showing mechanical properties comparable to those of liver tissue while also demonstrating long-term stability. The biocompatibility of hydrogels and their ability to host hepatocytes was studied in vitro in comparison to pure gelatin hydrogels crosslinked by transglutaminase using the hepatocellular line HepG2. It was found that HepG2 cells could be successfully embedded in the hydrogels, showing no signs of gel toxicity and proliferating in a 3D environment comparable to pure transglutaminase cross-linked gelatin hydrogels used as control. Altogether, hydrazide gelatin in combination with oxidized polysaccharides makes stable in situ gelling systems for the incorporation of hepatocytes, which may pave the way for use in liver tissue engineering and drug testing. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Hydrogels for Tissue Engineering)
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14 pages, 1224 KiB  
Article
Hard-to-Heal Wound Healing: Superiority of Hydrogel EHO-85 (Containing Olea europaea Leaf Extract) vs. a Standard Hydrogel. A Randomized Controlled Trial
by José Verdú-Soriano, Antonio Casado-Díaz, Marisol de Cristino-Espinar, Silvia Luna-Morales, Caridad Dios-Guerra, Paloma Moreno-Moreno, Gabriel Dorado, José Manuel Quesada-Gómez, Leocadio Rodríguez-Mañas and José Luis Lázaro-Martínez
Gels 2023, 9(12), 962; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels9120962 - 08 Dec 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1486
Abstract
Chronic wounds, especially those that are hard-to-heal, constitute a serious public-health problem. Although progress has been made in the development of wound dressings for healing, there is little high-quality evidence of their efficacy, with no evidence of superiority in the use of one [...] Read more.
Chronic wounds, especially those that are hard-to-heal, constitute a serious public-health problem. Although progress has been made in the development of wound dressings for healing, there is little high-quality evidence of their efficacy, with no evidence of superiority in the use of one hydrogel over another. To evaluate the superiority of a hydrogel (EHO-85), containing Olea europaea leaf extract (OELE), over a standard hydrogel (SH), the promotion and/or improvement of healing of difficult-to-heal wounds was compared in a prospective, parallel-group multicenter, randomized, observer-blinded, controlled trial (“MACAON”). Non-hospitalized patients with pressure, venous or diabetic foot-ulcers difficult-to-heal were recruited and treated with standard care, and EHO-85 (n = 35) or VariHesive (n = 34) as SH. Wound-area reduction (WAR; percentage) and healing rate (HR; mm2/day) were measured. EHO-85 showed a statistically significant superior effect over VariHesive. At the end of the follow-up period, the relative WAR decreased by 51.6% vs. 18.9% (p < 0.001), with a HR mean of 10.5 ± 5.7 vs. 1.0 ± 7.5 mm2/day (p = 0.036). EHO-85 superiority is probably based on its optimal ability to balance the ulcer bed, by modulating pH and oxidative stress. That complements the wetting and barrier functions, characteristics of conventional hydrogels. These results support the use of EHO-85 dressing, for treatment of hard-to-heal ulcers. Trial Registration AEMPS:PS/CR623/17/CE. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Hydrogels for Tissue Engineering)
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13 pages, 6632 KiB  
Article
Effect of GelMA Hydrogel Properties on Long-Term Encapsulation and Myogenic Differentiation of C2C12 Spheroids
by Karthika Muthuramalingam and Hyun Jong Lee
Gels 2023, 9(12), 925; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels9120925 - 23 Nov 2023
Viewed by 1315
Abstract
Skeletal muscle regeneration and engineering hold great promise for the treatment of various muscle-related pathologies and injuries. This research explores the use of gelatin methacrylate (GelMA) hydrogels as a critical component for encapsulating cellular spheroids in the context of muscle tissue engineering and [...] Read more.
Skeletal muscle regeneration and engineering hold great promise for the treatment of various muscle-related pathologies and injuries. This research explores the use of gelatin methacrylate (GelMA) hydrogels as a critical component for encapsulating cellular spheroids in the context of muscle tissue engineering and regenerative applications. The preparation of GelMA hydrogels at various concentrations, ranging from 5% to 15%, was characterized and correlated with their mechanical stiffness. The storage modulus was quantified and correlated with GelMA concentration: 6.01 ± 1.02 Pa (5% GelMA), 75.78 ± 6.67 Pa (10% GelMA), and 134.69 ± 7.93 Pa (15% GelMA). In particular, the mechanical properties and swelling capacity of GelMA hydrogels were identified as key determinants affecting cell sprouting and migration from C2C12 spheroids. The controlled balance between these factors was found to significantly enhance the differentiation and functionality of the encapsulated spheroids. Our results highlight the critical role of GelMA hydrogels in orchestrating cellular dynamics and processes within a 3D microenvironment. The study demonstrates that these hydrogels provide a promising scaffold for the long-term encapsulation of spheroids while maintaining high biocompatibility. This research provides valuable insights into the design and use of GelMA hydrogels for improved muscle tissue engineering and regenerative applications, paving the way for innovative approaches to muscle tissue repair and regeneration. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Hydrogels for Tissue Engineering)
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14 pages, 10352 KiB  
Article
A Study of the Properties of Scaffolds for Bone Regeneration Modified with Gel-like Coatings of Chitosan and Folic Acid
by Aleksandra Bandzerewicz, Kamila Godzieba, Kamil Wierzchowski, Maciej Pilarek and Agnieszka Gadomska-Gajadhur
Gels 2023, 9(10), 773; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels9100773 - 23 Sep 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 584
Abstract
The research has been conducted to obtain scaffolds for cancellous bone regeneration. Polylactide scaffolds were made by the phase inversion method with a freeze-extraction variant, including gelling polylactide in its non-solvent. Substitutes made of polylactide are hydrophobic, which limits cell adhesion. For this [...] Read more.
The research has been conducted to obtain scaffolds for cancellous bone regeneration. Polylactide scaffolds were made by the phase inversion method with a freeze-extraction variant, including gelling polylactide in its non-solvent. Substitutes made of polylactide are hydrophobic, which limits cell adhesion. For this reason, the scaffolds were modified using chitosan and folic acid by forming gel-like coatings on the surface. The modification aimed to improve the material’s surface properties and increase cell adhesion. Analyses of obtained scaffolds confirmed the effectiveness of performed changes. The presence of chitosan and folic acid was confirmed in the modified scaffolds, while all scaffolds retained high open porosity, which is essential for proper cell growth inside the scaffold and the free flow of nutrients. Hydrostatic weighing showed that the scaffolds have high mass absorbability, allowing them to be saturated with biological fluids. There were also cytotoxicity tests performed on 24 h extracts of the materials obtained, which indicated a lack of cytotoxic effect. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Hydrogels for Tissue Engineering)
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