Preparation and cytotoxicity evaluation of hydrogels based on poly(trimethylene carbonate) and carboxyalkyl chitosans for regenerative medicine applications

Abstract Aim of this study was to assess possible influence of eight different variants of chitosan-based gels (without cross-linker treatment and cross-linked with one of the next substances – glutaraldehyde or hexamethylene diisocyanate) and poly(trimethylene carbonate) gels onto live tissues using in vitro cell culture model with 14 days incubation and regular light microscopy and final MTT cytotoxicity assay. All gel samples were preliminary undergone radiation sterilization with 25 kGy (equal to 10-6 sterility assurance level) absorbed dose before experiment. Results showed that four of eight tested gels showed mostly biocompatible behavior – both in cell culture and in MTT assay, except for hydrogel chitosan-hexamethylene diisocyanate and carboxyethylchitosan-1, and two poly(trimethylene carbonate) gel samples. For the poly(trimethylene carbonate) such negative results could be avoided in the future via modifications for increasing of hydrophilic properties and functionality, and for two worst chitosan-based gel samples a possible solution for the adequate cytotoxicity evaluation could be a more precision flow cytometry with known fluorescent cytotoxicity assays.