Robust aortic media adhesion using hydrophobically modified Alaska pollock gelatin-based adhesive for aortic dissections.

Type-A aortic dissection is an acute injury involving the delamination of the aorta at the parts of the aortic media. Aldehyde crosslinker-containing glues have been used to adhere to the media of the dissected aorta before joining an artificial graft. These glues effectively adhere to the aortic media; however, they show low biocompatibility due to the release of aldehyde compounds. In this study, we report innovative adhesives based on hydrophobically modified Alaska pollock gelatin (hm-ApGltn) with different alkyl or cholesteryl (Chol) groups that adhere to the media of the dissected aorta by combining hm-ApGltns with a biocompatible crosslinker, pentaerythritol poly(ethylene glycol) ether tetrasuccinimidyl glutarate. The modification of alkyl or Chol groups contributed to enhanced adhesion strength between porcine aortic media. The adhesion strength increased with increasing modification ratios of alkyl groups from propanoyl to dodecanoyl groups and then decreased at a modification ratio of ~20 mol %. Porcine aortic media adhered using 7.5Chol-ApGltn adhesive showed stretchability even when expanded and shrunk vertically by 25% at least five times. Hm-ApGltn adhesives subcutaneously injected into the backs of mice showed no severe inflammation and were degraded during the implantation period. These results indicated that hm-ApGltn adhesives have potential applications in type-A aortic dissection.

Quality evaluation of cell spheroids for transplantation by monitoring oxygen consumption using an on-chip electrochemical device.

Three-dimensional cell spheroids are superior cell-administration form for cell-based therapy which generally exhibit superior functionality and long-term survival after transplantation. Here, we nondestructively measured the oxygen consumption rate of cell spheroids using an on-chip electrochemical device (OECD) and examined whether this rate can be used as a marker to estimate the quality of cell spheroids. Cell spheroids containing NanoLuc luciferase-expressing mouse mesenchymal stem cell line C3H10T1/2 (C3H10T1/2/Nluc) were prepared. Spheroids of high or low quality were prepared by altering the medium change frequency. After transplantation into mice, the high-quality C3H10T1/2/Nluc spheroids exhibited a higher survival rate than the low-quality ones. The oxygen consumption rate of the high-quality C3H10T1/2/Nluc spheroids was maintained at high levels, whereas that of the low-quality spheroids decreased with time. These results indicate that OECD-based measurement of the oxygen consumption rate can be used to estimate the quality of cell spheroids without destructive analysis of the spheroids.

Effect of alkyl chain length on the interfacial strength of surgical sealants composed of hydrophobically-modified Alaska-pollock-derived gelatins and poly(ethylene)glycol-based four-armed crosslinker.

Surgical sealants are widely used clinically. Fibrin sealant is a commonly used sealant, but is ineffective under wet conditions during surgery. In this study, we developed surgical sealants composed of hydrophobically modified Alaska-pollock-derived gelatins (hm-ApGltns) with different alkyl chain lengths from C3 to C18 and a poly(ethylene)glycol-based 4-armed crosslinker (4S-PEG). The burst strength of the hm-ApGltns-based sealant was evaluated using a fresh porcine blood vessel and was found to increase with increasing alkyl chain length from 167±22 to 299±43mmHg when the substitution ratio of amino groups of ApGltn was around 10mol%. The maximum burst strength was observed when stearoyl-group modified ApGltn (Ste-ApGltn)/4S-PEG-based sealant was used, displaying 3-fold higher burst strength than the original ApGltn (Org-ApGltn)/4S-PEG sealant, and 10-fold higher than the commercial fibrin sealant. Ste-ApGltn/4S-PEG-based sealant was biodegraded in rat subcutaneous tissue within 8 weeks without severe inflammation. By molecular interaction analysis using surface plasmon resonance, the binding constant of Ste-ApGltn to fibronectin was found to be 9-fold higher than that of Org-ApGltn. Therefore, the developed sealant, in particular the Ste-ApGltn/4S-PEG-based sealant, has potential applications in the field of cardiovascular surgery as well as thoracic surgery.

Robust Sealing of Blood Vessels with Cholesteryl Group-Modified, Alaska Pollock-Derived Gelatin-Based Biodegradable Sealant Under Wet Conditions.

A novel surgical sealant was developed by partially modifying the amino groups of Alaska pollock-derived gelatin derivative with cholesteryl groups (Chol-apGltn), which was combined with the crosslinker, pentaerythritol poly(ethylene glycol) ether tetrasuccinimidyl glutarate (4S-PEG). The burst strength of the resultant sealant was tested using fresh porcine aorta as an adherend. The Chol-apGltn/4S-PEG sealant cured within 25.4 ± 2.0 s. Burst strength increased with increasing degree of Chol modification up to a maximum value of 8.3 mol% (8.3Chol-apGltn). The highest burst strength of the 8.3Chol-apGltn/4S-PEG sealant was 341.3 ± 77.5 mmHg, which was 3.5- and 11.6-fold higher than that of the original apGltn/4S-PEG and commercial fibrin sealants, respectively. The 8.3Chol-apGltn/4S-PEG sealant swelled only slightly in solution (1.1-fold as compared to commercially prepared sealant). Furthermore, tissue migration into the 8.3Chol-apGltn/4S-PEG sealant and subsequent biodegradation was observed following implantation for 4-8 weeks. These results suggest that the 8.3Chol-apGltn/4S-PEG sealant has biomedical applications, including use in cardiovascular and thoracic surgery.

Enhanced ALP activity of MG63 cells cultured on hydroxyapatite-poly(ethylene glycol) hydrogel composites prepared using EDTA-OH.

In order to obtain a hydroxyapatite (HAp)-poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) composite, tetra amine-terminated PEG was crosslinked using disuccinimidyl tartrate to obtain a PEG hydrogel. Using two kinds of chelators with different stability constants for Ca ion (N-(2-hydroxyethyl) ethylenediamine-N,N',N'-triacetic acid (EDTA-OH, 8.14), and ethylenediamine-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid (EDTA, 10.96)), calcium phosphate was deposited within PEG hydrogels by heating the chelator-containing calcium phosphate solution at 90 °C. X-ray diffraction analysis showed that the deposited calcium phosphate was HAp. The crystallinity of the HAp deposited using EDTA-OH was low compared with that obtained using EDTA, but the amount of HAp deposited within the PEG hydrogel using EDTA-OH was higher than that deposited using EDTA. Significantly more human osteoblast-like MG-63 cells adhered on the HAp-PEG composite prepared using EDTA-OH than on the HAp-PEG composites prepared using EDTA. Furthermore, the alkaline phosphatase activity of MG-63 cultured on the HAp-PEG composite prepared using EDTA-OH was four times higher than that on the HAp-PEG composite prepared using EDTA. Therefore, the HAp-PEG composite prepared using EDTA-OH has potential as a bone substitute material.