Construction of polyacrylamide/graphene oxide/gelatin/sodium alginate composite hydrogel with bioactivity for promoting Schwann cells growth

Various hydrogels made from natural or synthetic polymers have been widely used in biologic tissues, drug delivery, and artificial implants due to their good biocompatibility, indicating a promising perspective in regenerative medicine. In the present study, a composite hydrogel named polyacrylamide/graphene oxide/gelatin/sodium alginate (PAM/GO/Gel/SA) for accelerating peripheral nerve regeneration was fabricated through in situ free radical polymerization for the first time. A series of physicochemical properties including morphology, porosity, swelling behaviors, component, mechanical properties, and in vitro degradation behavior of the prepared composite hydrogel were characterized. The effects of the composite hydrogel on Schwann cells growth were evaluated and the related molecular mechanism was further penetrated. The results showed that the prepared PAM/GO/Gel/SA composite hydrogels displayed different color appearance as the function of component variations. The surface morphology, components, swelling ratio, mechanical properties, and porosity were all changed with the concentration alteration of each ingredient, while no obvious degradation behavior was observed, indicating a controllable physicochemical property. The culture of cells exhibited that the composite hydrogels could well support the attachment and proliferation of Schwann cells. The gene expression levels of Sox10, GAP43, and myelin basic protein (MBP) in PGG0.5SYR1 and PGG1SYR0.5 were higher than those of NC. This study may provide important theoretical and experimental basis for the design and development of hydrogel scaffolds for nerve tissue engineering application. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 106A: 1951–1964, 2018.