Cold Water Fish Gelatin Methacryloyl Hydrogel for Tissue Engineering Application

PLoS One. 2016 Oct 10;11(10):e0163902. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0163902. eCollection 2016.

Abstract

Gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) is a versatile biomaterial that has been used in various biomedical fields. Thus far, however, GelMA is mostly obtained from mammalian sources, which are associated with a risk of transmission of diseases, such as mad cow disease, as well as certain religious restrictions. In this study, we synthesized GelMA using fish-derived gelatin by a conventional GelMA synthesis method, and evaluated its physical properties and cell responses. The lower melting point of fish gelatin compared to porcine gelatin allowed larger-scale synthesis of GelMA and enabled hydrogel fabrication at room temperature. The properties (mechanical strength, water swelling degree and degradation rate) of fish GelMA differed from those of porcine GelMA, and could be tuned to suit diverse applications. Cells adhered, proliferated, and formed networks with surrounding cells on fish GelMA, and maintained high initial cell viability. These data suggest that fish GelMA could be utilized in a variety of biomedical fields as a substitute for mammalian-derived materials.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Fishes*
  • Gelatin / chemistry*
  • Hydrogels / chemistry*
  • Materials Testing*
  • Methacrylates / chemistry*
  • Mice
  • NIH 3T3 Cells
  • Tissue Engineering / methods*

Substances

  • Hydrogels
  • Methacrylates
  • methacrylic acid
  • Gelatin

Grants and funding

This article was supported by a grant from the Korean Health Technology R&D Project, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Republic of Korea (HI13C1256). The authors declare no conflicts of interest related to the content of this article. The funder provided support in the form of salaries for authors [J. M. Cha], but did not have any additional role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The specific roles of these authors are articulated in the ‘author contributions’ section The Samsung Electronics (Commercial affiliation) provided support in the form of salaries for author [J. M. Cha], but did not have any additional role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The specific roles of these authors are articulated in the ‘author contributions’ section.