Bicomponent Hydrogels Based on Methacryloyl Derivatives of Gelatin and Mucin with Potential Wound Dressing Applications

The present paper reports the first attempt to synthesize bicomponent hydrogels based on methacryloyl derivatives of gelatin (GelMA) and mucin (MuMA) with different compositions, with potential as wound dressings. While gelatin is widely investigated and used to fabricate scaffolds and coatings stimulating cell interactions and tissue regeneration, mucin - a macromolecule which covers the wet epithelia - remains yet under exploited as biomaterial. The influence of MuMA content on various parameters such as the affinity for aqueous media, stability in simulated physiologic media and the rheologic behavior was investigated. Also, the preliminary assessment of the drug release potential and biocompatibility were performed. The materials� water uptake capacity and rheologic behavior depend on the pH value of the incubation media, while their composition influences the drug release capacity and cells-scaffold interactions.