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In the present study, poly( N ɛ -acryloyl- l -lysine)/hyaluronic acid (pLysAAm/HA) interpenetrating network (IPN) hydrogels were successfully fabricated through the combination of hydrazone bond crosslinking and photo-crosslinking reactions. The HA hydrogel network was first synthesized from 3,3′-dithiodipropionate hydrazide-modified HA and polyethylene glycol dilevulinate by hydrazone bond crosslinking. The pLysAAm hydrogel network was prepared from N ɛ -acryloyl- l -lysine and N , N ′-bis(acryloyl)-( l )-cystine by photo-crosslinking. The resultant pLysAAm/HA hydrogels had a good shape recovery property after loading and unloading for 1.5 cycles (up to 90%) and displayed a highly porous microstructure. Their compressive moduli were at least 5 times higher than that of HA hydrogels. The pLysAAm/HA hydrogels had an equilibrium swelling ratio of up to 37.9 and displayed a glutathione-responsive degradation behavior. The results from in vitro biocompatibility evaluation with pre-osteoblasts MC3T3-E1 cells revealed that the pLysAAm/HA hydrogels could support cell viability and proliferation. Hematoxylin and eosin staining indicated that the pLysAAm/HA hydrogels allowed cell and tissue infiltration, confirming their good in vivo biocompatibility. Therefore, the novel pLysAAm/HA IPN hydrogels have great potential for bone tissue engineering applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogels fabricated from natural polysaccharides may serve as ideal scaffolds for tissue engineering because of their similarity to the extracellular matrices. In this study, novel hydrogel scaffolds with bubble-like porous structure were prepared from hydroxyethyl chitosan (HECS) and cellulose (CEL) by a combination of chemical crosslinking, particle-leaching using silicon dioxide particles as porogen and freeze-drying method. The morphology, compression stress-strain curves, wettability, and swelling and rheological behaviors of the HECS/CEL scaffolds were characterized by SEM, mechanical test, contact angle measurement and rheometer. HECS/CEL scaffolds had good comprehensive performances and could reach equilibrium swelling state in water within 20s. The results from in vitro biocompatibility evaluated using SEM, live/dead cell viability and MTT assays demonstrated that the HECS/CEL scaffolds could well support the attachment, spreading and proliferation of osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells and showed good biocompatibility. Therefore, the novel HECS/CEL scaffolds may be promising for bone tissue engineering applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]