Encapsulation of living photosynthetic organisms in alginate-gelatin hydrogels for controlled cell growth and oxygen production

Kopač, Tilen (author), Boček, Žan (author), Van Midden, Katarina Petra (author), Klemenčič, Marina (author), Ručigaj, Aleš (author)

Alginate-gelatin bicomposite hydrogels have gained prominence in biomedicine and tissue engineering for their biocompatibility, biodegradability, and customizable properties. Since one of the most promising applications of hydrogels is their use as patches for wound healing reliant to oxygen, we prepared alginate-gelatin hydrogels with constant 2% (w/v) alginate and increasing concentration of gelatin (up to 1% (w/v), crosslinked with a solution of 0.43% CaCl$_2$ and used them to encapsulate photosynthetic cells of a unicellular alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. We investigated how hydrogel design parameters (crosslink density) influenced cell growth and oxygen production compared to their rheological properties. Our findings demonstrate that optimizing gelatine concentration played an important role in the diffusion of nutrients to the encapsulated cells, the most important parameter in controlling cell growth and oxygen production. We observed that modulating the concentration of gelatin molecules up to the gelation point, which was determined at 0.66% (w/v), significantly impacting nutrient diffusion, cell growth, and oxygen production due to the viscosity effect. Differently, at concentrations of GEL above gelation point (up to 1%) the stable hydrogel network is formed which affect the nutrient diffusion, cell growth, and oxygen production because of crosslink density. The effect of cell concentration on the mechanical properties of the hydrogel was investigated, which are crucial for further development of alginate-gelatin systems with targeted properties for various applications.

• Language: English
• Keywords: hydrogels, cell growth, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, oxygen production, mechanical properties, nutrients diffusion coefficient
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FKKT - Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology; FS - Faculty of Mechanical Engineering
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2023
• Number of pages: 10 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 199, art. 109070
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-149974
• UDC: 66.098
• ISSN on article: 1369-703X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.bej.2023.109070
• COBISS.SI-ID: 162521347
• Publication date in RUL: 12.09.2023

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Biochemical engineering journal
• Shortened title: Biochem. eng. j.
• Publisher: Elsevier
• ISSN: 1369-703X
• COBISS.SI-ID: 3515414

Licences

• License: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
• Description: The most restrictive Creative Commons license. This only allows people to download and share the work for no commercial gain and for no other purposes.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: hidrogeli, rast celic, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, proizvodnja kisika, mehanske lastnosti, difuzijski koeficient hranil