Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Evaluation of the in vitro and in vivo biocompatibility of carrageenan-based hydrogels

2014; Wiley; Volume: 102; Issue: 11 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1002/jbm.a.35081

1552-4965

Elena G. Popa, Pedro P. Carvalho, Ana F.V. Dias, T. C. Santos, Vítor Espirito Santo, Alexandra P. Marques, Carlos Viegas, Isabel R. Dias, Manuela E. Gomes, Rui L. Reis,

Algal biology and biofuel production

Carrageenans are highly sulphated galactans, well-known for their thermogelation properties which have been extensively exploited in food and cosmetics industry but poorly explored in the biomedicine field. In this study, we have assessed the in vitro and in vivo biocompatibility of κ-carrageenan hydrogels that have been explored for regenerative medicine and tissue engineering applications. The in vitro cytotoxicity of the materials using a L929 mouse fibroblast cell line was evaluated, and the effect of κ-carrageenan hydrogels on the activation of human polymorphonuclear neutrophils cells (hPMNs) was also evaluated by the quantification of reactive oxygen species by chemiluminescence. Subsequently, the inflammatory/immune reaction to κ-carrageenan hydrogels on subcutaneous implantation was studied in rats. Explants were retrieved after 1 and 2 weeks of implantation for histological and RT-PCR analysis. The cytotoxicity screening revealed that κ-carrageenan hydrogels did not significantly affect L929 metabolic activity. Moreover, hPMNs contact with κ-carrageenan resulted in a reduced and a neglectable signal regarding the detection of superoxide and hydroxyl anions, respectively. The results from the in vivo experiments indicated that κ-carrageenan induce a low inflammatory response. Overall, the data obtained suggest that κ-carrageenan hydrogels are biocompatible and thus can be further studied for their use in target biomedical applications. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 102A: 4087–4097, 2014.