Synthetic polymer-collagen composite hydrogel for drug delivery and tissue engineering

Abstract

The project proposed blending collagen and thermo reversible PEO-PPO-PEO tri-block copolymer to achieve composite hydrogel that combined the appropriate mechanical properties of synthetic component with the biocompatibility of biological component. The hydrogel was characterized ultrastructurally and evaluated as a drug carrier by performing drug release kinetics test using FITC-dextran as a drug model. To explore its potential use as extracellular matrix in tissue engineering, the influence of composite hydrogel on cell proliferation and viability was also examined. Another synthetic polymer utilized was poly (propylene) diglycidyl ether that was crosslinked with collagen under basic condition to obtain xerogel. Series of test by the use of equipments such as NMR and DSC or TNBS reagent were carried out to investigate the extent of successful crosslinking. Water contact angle and cell cytotoxicity study were also conducted to examine the biocompatibility of this material.