In vivo studies of biocompatible PEG-based hydrogel scaffolds with biofactors

The development of macroporous PEG-based hydrogel scaffolds for soft tissue implantation was investigated. It is aimed that the incorporation of several types of biofactors, particularly extracellular matrices (e.g., Matrigel and Myogel) into the hydrogel scaffolds will induce the formation of adipoctyes and therefore will have potential in breast reconstruction application. This is due to the promising result obtained where by incorporation of these mentioned extracellular matrices could induced the formation of adipoctyes in different hydrogel systems. Therefore, in vivo studies of scaffolds filled with either Matrigel or Myogel with incorporation of growth factors (bFGF) were prepared and implanted in rats for duration of 8 weeks and then explanted for analysis (staining by defined protocols for hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and for rat macrophages (ED-1)). Results showed no sign of adipoctyes even after 8 weeks of implantation. However, the modification did marginally enhance the formation of tissue (e.g., higher density of cells and tissue) within the scaffolds in comparison to the unmodified scaffold with the occurrence of more macrophages and foreign body giant cells (FBGCs). Importantly, the modified scaffolds also maintained a mild to moderate inflammatory response at prolonged implantation periods. In summary, these positive results showed promising properties of scaffolds and have potential as implant for wider applications in soft tissue replacement.