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Degradable and Tunable Keratin-fibrinogen Hydrogel as Controlled Release System for Skin Tissue Regeneration

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Abstract

Biodegradable hydrogels are promising biomaterials for use in controlled-release systems for skin tissue regeneration. Controlled delivery systems constitute an important aspect of tissue engineering because they can modulate various physiological responses, including early immune response, tissue remodeling, and cell proliferation and maturation in the wound-healing process. Hydrogels composed of various biomaterials have been developed to overcome the limitations of conventional drug- or protein-delivery systems, such as limited targeting ability, low stability, and the induction of drug resistance. Hydrogels based on keratin, a natural polymer extracted from human hair, can provide adequate cell support and control homeostasis. Consequently, they can be applied for skin tissue engineering. In this study, we prepared degradable, tunable, and biocompatible hydrogels for controllable protein delivery. We synthesized keratin-fibrinogen (KER-FBG) by the chemical coupling reaction and prepared hydrogels through polymerization with thrombin. The structures and morphologies of the KER-FBG hydrogels were confirmed. Furthermore, the mechanical properties, swelling ratio, degradation, release behavior, and biocompatibility were investigated. The KER-FBG hydrogels presented promising biological performance, indicating that the material is suitable as a controlled protein delivery carrier.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by a National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korean government (MSIT) (NRF-2020R1A2C2011937, 2020R1C1C1007129), a grant of the Korea Health Technology R&D Project through the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI) funded by the Ministry of Health & Welfare (HI22C1572) and R&BD Program through the INNOPOLIS funded by Ministry of Science and ICT (2021-IT-RD-0059-01-101).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Dentistry, Graduate School, Kyung Hee University, 26 Kyungheedae-Ro, Dongdaemun-Gu, Seoul, 02447, Republic of Korea

    Sung Jun Min, Jae Seo Lee & Haram Nah

  2. Biofriends Inc, 26 Kyungheedae-Ro, Dongdaemun-Gu, Seoul, 02447, Republic of Korea

    Haram Nah & Dong Nyoung Heo

  3. Department of Dental Materials, School of Dentistry, Kyung Hee University, 26 Kyungheedae-Ro, Dongdaemun-Gu, Seoul, 02447, Republic of Korea

    Ho-Jin Moon, Sang Jin Lee, Il Keun Kwon & Dong Nyoung Heo

  4. Department of Maxillofacial Biomedical Engineering and Institute of Oral Biology, School of Dentistry, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, 02447, Korea

    Hyeon Jeong Kang & Yu-Shik Hwang

  5. Kyung Hee University Medical Science Research Institute, Kyung Hee University, 23 Kyungheedae-Ro, Dongdaemun-Gu, Seoul, 02447, Republic of Korea

    Il Keun Kwon

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  1. Sung Jun Min
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Min, S.J., Lee, J.S., Nah, H. et al. Degradable and Tunable Keratin-fibrinogen Hydrogel as Controlled Release System for Skin Tissue Regeneration. J Bionic Eng 20, 1049–1059 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42235-022-00317-7

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