Design Of Fertilized Egg Protein Loaded Poloxamer-Based Thermoresponsive Hydrogel For Tissue Engineering

Abstract

Hydrogels have been considered one of the most suitable biomaterials for 3D cell culture. However, there are still many limitations as their price is very expensive, might not perform thermoresponsive property and lack of bioactive signals. Therefore, this study designed an affordable, easy-to-use thermoresponsive hydrogel from Poloxamer 407, which was then supplemented with egg protein to perform 3D cell culture. The aims were to investigate and compare the two types of egg protein loaded in poloxamer hydrogel, which are egg white and fertilized egg. The samples was characterized in rheological property, anti-oxidant property and in vitro evaluations to ensure its ability in 3D cell culture, which is essential for tissue engineering. The Poloxamer hydrogel was fabricated by using the cold method, then added with egg white and fertilized egg powder freezedried powder with different concentrations. Preliminary results show that the hydrogel has reached a solid state at room temperature despite the change in egg protein concentration. For the in vitro study, cells after being seeded on the gel surface penetrated, curled up, and grew into colonies inside the hydrogel. Moreover, after the cytotoxicity and proliferation test, the hydrogel has guaranteed biocompatibility and can support cell proliferation. Nevertheless, the anti-oxidant and in vitro immune response test of the egg protein was still maintained after loading inside the hydrogel, especially in egg-white loaded poloxamer hydrogel samples. Overall, this poloxamer-based hydrogel has ensured basic characteristic which were essential for cell culture, such as bio-compatibility, anti-oxidant. The two hydrogel sample groups showed different tendency in immune response. For the project’s future work, the egg protein loaded poloxamer-based thermoresponsive hydrogel will undergo further investigation and development to optimize the desired characteristics which suitable for 3D cell culture.