Natural components as the structure of hydrogels for cellular therapy and tissue engineering

Abstract

Hydrogels are a class of dimensional hydrophylic polymer networks capable of absorbing and retaining large amounts of water. Natural and synthetic components can serve as a material for the hydrogel production. Hydrogels have unique physico-chemical properties, which are determined by the material composition and concentration, its density, crosslinking methods, and production approaches. This review article describes natural materials used for the production of hydrogels having different properties. The natural components of hydrogels are collagen, elastin, gelatin, chitosan, dextran, hyaluronic acid, alginate, silk fibroin and glycosaminoglycans. These components are considered biodegradable and biocompatible, since they do not have a toxic effect on tissues. Natural materials provide good cell adhesion, the spread of bioactive signals as well as they affect the behavior of cells in vitro and in vivo. To obtain hydrogels, physical and chemical methods of crosslinking are used, which determine the properties of the final product. Also, hydrogels can be further modified by various active molecules, growth factors that increase their biological functionality. To date, hydrogels made of natural materials are widely used in ophthalmology, neurosurgery, in the treatment of skin wounds, in various cardiovascular pathologies, in restoring the volume of circulating blood, some cartilage defects, targeted delivery of pharmacological drugs, active molecules, etc. Thus, hydrogels produced from natural components are an extremely promising material for cellular technologies and tissue engineering.