Development of strong, biodegradable and highly elastomeric polycitrate-gelatin hybrid polymer with enhanced cellular biocompatibility

Abstract

Native human tissues possess incomparable biological performance due to their strong and viscoelastic mechanical properties, and biocompatible compositions. Herein, by a thermal polymerization and solvent hybridization method, we develop biomimetic polycitrate-gelatin hybrid polymers (PC-GT) with strong mechanical properties and tailored elastomeric behavior for tissue regeneration applications. The incorporation of gelatin significantly enhanced the mechanical properties and cellular biocompatibility of PC. PC-GT hybrids demonstrated the 135 times (from 7.5 to 1015MPa) and 11 times (from 4 to 46MPa) improvement for the elastomeric modulus and tensile strength respectively as compared with PC elastomers, while showing controlled stretchable and elastomeric behavior. In addition, PC-GT hybrids significantly improved the fibroblasts (L929) attachment and proliferation, suggesting their high biocompatibility. This study may provide a novel strategy to design biocompatible hybrid polymers with strong and elastomeric behavior for tissue regeneration and stretchable electronic devices applications.

Keywords: Hybrid elastomers; Mechanical properties; Polycitrate; Tissue regeneration.