A collagen based cryogel bioscaffold coated with nanostructured polydopamine as a platform for mesenchymal stem cell therapy

Cryo‐hydrogels (cryogels) are polymer hydrogels formed at sub‐zero temperatures. Bioscaffolds created from cryogels have interconnected macropores which allow for cell migration, tissue‐ingrowth, unhindered diffusion of solutes and mass transport of therapeutics. In this study, we developed collagen based cryogel bioscaffolds and coated them with polydopamine using a simple two‐step technique. Cryogel bioscaffolds were synthesized by collagen crosslinking at −20°C and exhibited a macroporous interconnected architecture with 75% ± 3% porosity. Two groups of pore sizes were observed: 300 ± 50 µm and 30 ± 10 µm in diameter. The addition of a polydopamine coating to cryogel bioscaffolds was confirmed using composition analysis. This resulted in a 41% ± 5% decrease in water uptake, 81% ± 10% decrease in swelling rate and 12% ± 3% decrease in their degree of dissolution (p