Strategies Using Gelatin Microparticles for Regenerative Therapy and Drug Screening Applications

Gelatin, a denatured form of collagen, is an attractive biomaterial for biotechnology. In particular, gelatin particles have been noted due to their attractive properties as drug carriers. The drug release from gelatin particles can be easily controlled by the crosslinking degree of gelatin molecule, responding to the purpose of the research. The gelatin particles capable of drug release are effective in wound healing, drug screening models. For example, a sustained release of growth factors for tissue regeneration at the injured sites can heal a wound. In the case of the drug screening model, a tissue-like model composed of cells with high activity by the sustained release of drug or growth factor provides reliable results of drug effects. Gelatin particles are effective in drug delivery and the culture of spheroids or cell sheets because the particles prevent hypoxia-derived cell death. This review introduces recent research on gelatin microparticles-based strategies for regenerative therapy and drug screening models.

Infiltrated thin film structure with hydrogel-mediated precursor ink for durable SOFCs

The hydrogel of biomolecule-assisted metal/organic complex has the superior ability to form a uniform, continuous, and densely integrated structure, which is necessary for fine thin film fabrication. As a representative of nature-originated polymers with abundant reactive side chains, we select the gelatin molecule as an element for weaving the metal cations. Here, we demonstrate the interaction between the metal cation and gelatin molecules, and associate it with coating quality. We investigate the rheological property of gelatin solutions interacting with metal cation from the view of cross-linking and denaturing of gelatin molecules. Also, we quantitatively compare the corresponding interactions by monitoring the absorbance spectrum of the cation. The coated porous structure is systematically investigated from the infiltration of gelatin-mediated Gd0.2Ce0.8O2−δ (GDC) precursor into Sm0.5Sr0.5CoO3−δ (SSC) porous scaffold. By applying the actively interacting gelatin–GDC system, we achieve a thin film of GDC on SSC with excellent uniformity. Compare to the discrete coating from the typical infiltration process, the optimized thin film coated structure shows enhanced performance and stability.

COMPARATIVE HYDROLYSIS OF GELATIN BY PEPSIN, TRYPSIN, ACID, AND ALKALI

A comparison has been made of the relative velocity of hydrolysis of the various peptid linkings of the gelatin molecule when hydrolyzed by acid, alkali, pepsin or trypsin. It has been found that: 1. Those linkages which are most rapidly split by pepsin or trypsin are among the more resistant to acid hydrolysis. 2. Those linkages which are hydrolyzed by pepsin are also hydrolyzed by trypsin. 3. Trypsin hydrolyzes linkages which are not attacked by pepsin. 4. Of the linkages which are hydrolyzed by both enzymes, those which are most rapidly hydrolyzed by pepsin are only slowly attacked by trypsin. 5. Those linkages which are attacked by trypsin or pepsin are among the ones first (most rapidly) hydrolyzed by alkali. In general it may be said that the course of the early stages of hydrolysis of gelatin is similar with alkali, trypsin, or pepsin and quite different with acid.