Mechanical characterization of polysaccharide/polyaminoacid hydrogels as potential scaffolds for tissue regeneration

The mechanical properties of hydrogel scaffolds based on hyaluronic acid (HA) that were chemically crosslinked with α,β-poly(N-2-hydroxyethyl) (2-aminoethylcarbamate)-D,L-aspartamide (PHEA-EDA) were investigated. Variation of these properties as a function of three different PHEA-EDA amounts used to crosslink HA has been related to the reaction efficiency evaluated using a colorimetric assay. Moreover, the amount of unreacted amino groups that was still present in the hydrogels was related to the attachment behavior of human dermal fibroblasts to the hydrogel surface. The mechanical data and biological results suggest the suitability of the investigated hydrogels as scaffolds for the regeneration of soft tissues such as skin. © 2011 The Polymer Society of Korea and Springer Netherlands.