Engenharia tecidual: desenvolvimento de um novo scaffold injetável para aplicação na área da saúde

Abstract

Tissue engineering typically involves three major components, which are termed tissue engineering pillars: responsive cells (stem cells), scaffolds and signaling molecules (such as proteins and growth factors). Scaffolds are three-dimensional structures that provide cell support and serve as a guide for cell colonization, proliferation and differentiation. In recent years, synthetic and natural polymers have been investigated as biomaterials for a wide range of applications, including tissue regeneration and tissue engineering. However, national biomaterials, for the most varied applications, are not available, leading to dependence on external technology and causing an expanding market to be discredited on the national scene. In this sense, the present study aims to develop and characterize a new injectable scaffold from Gigartina skottsbergii algae found in the Latin American continent, which together with its bioproducts can be used in tissue engineering and cell therapy, with initial application in the medical area. To do so, a gel was synthesized and processed from G. Skottsbergii, which was analyzed and tested as a new scaffold. Thus, the viability and cell adhesion capacity of the scaffold were evaluated using the WST-1 colorimetric assay, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), against an immortalized mouse embryonic fibroblast (NIH/3T3) cell line. Data evaluation was performed using the two-way ANOVA followed by the Tukey test with a significance level of p <0.05. In this sense, it is possible to observe the three-dimensional structure of the G. skottsbergii algae, as well as the NIH/3T3 cells in this structure. It is observed that the cells are in great quantity and strongly adhered to the algae structure, maintaining an elongated morphology and with extensions. In relation to the evaluation of the three-dimensional structure of the hydrogel from the G. Skottsbergii algae and the morphology of the NIH/3T3 cells seeded on it, large areas can be observed for the cellular adhesion, and laminar and filamentar structures that interconnect are seen, adhered to this structure it is possible to observe NIH/3T3 cells with elongated morphology and extensions. Also, it is observed that there was a greater cell viability in the group containing a 1/4 dilution of the gel from the G. Skottsbergii algae with 5 hours and culture and also with 48 hours of culture. Keywords: carrageenan, injectable hydrogel, Gigartina skottsbergii