Preparation of nanochitin hydrogel with adjustable inter-structure by sequencial genipin crosslinking and ice-templating under acid condition

Feier Chen; Ying Liu; Yujun Zou; Jueyi Zhu; Liang Liu; Yimin Fan

doi:10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2022.08.201

Preparation of nanochitin hydrogel with adjustable inter-structure by sequencial genipin crosslinking and ice-templating under acid condition

Int J Biol Macromol. 2022 Nov 30:221:1022-1030. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2022.08.201. Epub 2022 Sep 6.

Authors

Feier Chen¹, Ying Liu², Yujun Zou³, Jueyi Zhu⁴, Liang Liu⁵, Yimin Fan⁶

Affiliations

¹ Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center of Efficient Processing and Utilization of Forest Resources, International Innovation Center for Forest Chemicals and Materials, College of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China. Electronic address: chenfe@njfu.edu.cn.
² Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center of Efficient Processing and Utilization of Forest Resources, International Innovation Center for Forest Chemicals and Materials, College of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China. Electronic address: yingliu@njfu.edu.cn.
³ Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center of Efficient Processing and Utilization of Forest Resources, International Innovation Center for Forest Chemicals and Materials, College of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China. Electronic address: zyj297@njfu.edu.cn.
⁴ Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center of Efficient Processing and Utilization of Forest Resources, International Innovation Center for Forest Chemicals and Materials, College of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China. Electronic address: zjueyi@njfu.edu.cn.
⁵ Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center of Efficient Processing and Utilization of Forest Resources, International Innovation Center for Forest Chemicals and Materials, College of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China. Electronic address: liuliang_hg@njfu.edu.cn.
⁶ Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center of Efficient Processing and Utilization of Forest Resources, International Innovation Center for Forest Chemicals and Materials, College of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China. Electronic address: fanyimin@njfu.edu.cn.

PMID: 36075307
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2022.08.201

Abstract

In this work, genipin crosslinked chitin nanofibril hydrogels/cryogels were successfully prepared. Due to the acidic disperse nature of positively charged chitin fibrils, the pH nature for the chemical crosslinking between chitin nanofibrils and genipin was restricted under 5.0. The pH nature and crosslinking temperature were found greatly influence the efficient chemical crosslinking between chitin nanofibril and genipin. Further ice templated crosslinking was found effective enhancing the mechanical properties of resulting chitin nanofibril hydrogels/cryogels. The cryogel prepared by genipin-crosslinked DEChNs showed interconnected pores, presenting a state of stacking layers. In addition, the deposition of hydroxyapatite (HA) on the surface of chitin nanofibril scaffolds was found effective for improving chondrocyte attachments and growths. The cells viability indicated the good cell compatibility of the cryogel. All the results indicated that the cryogel prepared by genipin-crosslinked DEChNs showed a potential for tissue engineering applications.

Keywords: Biosecurity; Chitin nanofibrils; Genipin.

MeSH terms

Chitin / chemistry
Cross-Linking Reagents / chemistry
Cryogels*
Ice*
Iridoids / chemistry
Tissue Engineering / methods
Tissue Scaffolds / chemistry

Substances

genipin
Cryogels
Ice
Iridoids
Chitin
Cross-Linking Reagents