Effect of alginate and chitosan addition in the fabrication of polyvinyl alcohol-based matrix for tissue engineering applications

Recently, there has been a growing interest in artificial skin on hydrogels as a potential alternative for animal testing to evaluate the efficacy and safety of new drugs or cosmetics. Synthetic polymers have been widely used due to their superior physicochemical properties. However, synthetic polymers such as polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) are limited by their poor biocompatibility and cell adhesion. Combining synthetic and natural polymers can improve these properties. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of alginate and chitosan addition to PVA-based hydrogels on protein adsorption, cell viability and cell attachment. The addition of chitosan decreased protein adsorption, which was caused by the changes in electrostatic charge by PVA-chitosan interaction and changes in surface roughness. Primary human fibroblast cells cultured on PVA, PVA-alginate and PVA-chitosan had >80% viability which indicates the cytocompatibility of the hydrogels. More importantly, alginate and chitosan also improved the cell attachment on the PVA-based hydrogels. Taken together, the addition of both alginate and chitosan has the potential to improve PVA-based hydrogels for artificial skin application.