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Abstract. Application of human mesenchymal stem cells brings a new hope for advanced wound healing. To enable cells culture and their viability maintenance, a new type of biomaterials must be developed. Scaffolds prepared from polymers of natural origin can mimic extracellular matrix. Chitosan, which is a chitin derivative, has many favorable properties like biodegradability or lack of cytotoxicity. Therefore, it is widely applied in medicine and pharmacy. Nevertheless, its chemical modification may lead to the loss of biocompatibility of the material and generate some significant problems with cells culture. In this article a novel strategy of the bioactive and antimicrobial chitosan hydrogel scaffolds is presented. As crosslinking agents non-toxic substances were used such as aspartic acid and glutamic acid. Obtained biomaterials were investigated over their chemical structure, morphology and biological activity. Performed tests using human mesenchymal stem cells confirmed bioactivity and biocompatibility, as well as antibacterial and antifungal properties.
Keywords: biocompatible polymers, hydrogel biomaterials, scaffolds, stem cells, chitosan
1. Introduction
Rapid development of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine raised a need for the preparation of new type of biomaterials. Special attention of scientists is focused on polymers and biopolymers, which can create different porous structures while maintaining their biocompatibility.
Cellular therapies exhibit high potential for repairing damaged tissues [1], and thus it is thought that stem cell injections are a promising treatment method within the scope of regenerative medicine [2, 3]. Mesenchymal amniotic stem cells became applicable in tissue regeneration or even nerve injury repair [4]. The injection method of stem cell delivery was a serious limitation [2]. Biomaterials are characterized by the ability to maintain MSC (mesenchymal stem cell) functionality, which can translate into improvement of the quality of cell therapies. It was demonstrated that agarose-carbomer hydrogel positively affects the number of live cells. In the same study, biomimetic hydrogel was able to significantly immunomodulate inflammation [5]. Hydrogel biomaterials ensure even distribution of cells in the material and their high viability [6]. Hydrogel scaffolds provide the opportunity to encapsulate stem cells while maintaining their viability [7]. They remain live and metabolically active for up to 7 days [8]. It is believed that composite hydrogels are suitable for controlling stem cell differentiation and bone tissue regeneration [9]. Literature data show that hydrogels form a...