Controlled Curcumin Release from Hydrogel Scaffold Platform Based on 2-Hydroxyethyl Methacrylate/Gelatin/Alginate/Iron(III) Oxide

The strategy of combining polymers of natural and synthetic origin with inorganic components to use their unique synergistic effect for the development of the novel, sophisticated, and efficient 3D polymeric biomaterials, whose structure and properties mimic the extracellular matrix and simultaneously represent the suitable hydrogel platform for controlled drug release, is presented. The novel versatile 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate/gelatin/alginate/iron(III) oxide based hydrogels are prepared by a simple but effective method-modified porogenation. Chemical composition, morphology, swelling capacity, porosity, mechanical properties, effects on cell viability, and in vitro degradation are tested to correlate the material's composition with the corresponding properties. The hydrogels show an interconnected porous microstructure, satisfactory mechanical strength, pH-sensitivity, and favorable curcumin release performances. The materials show good compatibility with healthy human fibroblast in cell culture judged by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay, suggesting newly synthesized hydrogels as potentially a new generation of 3D biomaterials with tunable properties for versatile biomedical and pharmaceutical applications.