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In vitro cell delivery by gelatin microspheres prepared in water-in-oil emulsion

  • Special Issue: Hydrogels in Regenerative Medicine
  • Original Research
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Abstract

The regeneration of injured or damaged tissues by cell delivery approaches requires the fabrication of cell carriers (e.g., microspheres, MS) that allow for cell delivery to limit cells spreading from the injection site. Ideal MS for cell delivery should allow for cells adhesion and proliferation on the MS before the injection, while they should allow for viable cells release after the injection to promote the damaged tissue regeneration. We optimized a water-in-oil emulsion method to obtain gelatin MS crosslinked by methylenebisacrylamide (MBA). The method we propose allowed obtaining spherical, chemically crosslinked MS characterized by a percentage crosslinking degree of 74.5 ± 2.1%. The chemically crosslinked gelatin MS are characterized by a diameter of 70.9 ± 17.2 μm in the dry state and, at swelling plateau in culture medium at 37 °C, by a diameter of 169.3 ± 41.3 μm. The MS show dimensional stability up to 28 days, after which they undergo complete degradation. Moreover, during their degradation, MS release gelatin that can improve the engraftment of cells in the injured site. The produced MS did not induce any cytotoxic effect in vitro and they supported viable L929 fibroblasts adhesion and proliferation. The MS released viable cells able to colonize and proliferate on the tissue culture plastic, used as release substrate, potentially proving their ability in supporting a simplified in vitro wound healing process, thus representing an optimal tool for cell delivery applications.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering “G. Natta”, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133, Milan, Italy

    Nicola Contessi Negrini, Maria Veronica Lipreri & Silvia Farè

  2. INSTM, National Interuniversity Consortium of Materials Science and Technology, Local Unit Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133, Milan, Italy

    Nicola Contessi Negrini, Maria Cristina Tanzi & Silvia Farè

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  1. Nicola Contessi Negrini
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Correspondence to Nicola Contessi Negrini.

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Contessi Negrini, N., Lipreri, M.V., Tanzi, M.C. et al. In vitro cell delivery by gelatin microspheres prepared in water-in-oil emulsion. J Mater Sci: Mater Med 31, 26 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10856-020-6363-2

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