Injectable gellan gum-based hydrogels for intervertebral disc regeneration

• Author(s): Correia, Joana Silva ; Oliveira, Joaquim M. ; Caridade, S. G. ; Oliveira, João T. ; Sousa, R. A. ; Mano, J. F. ; Reis, R. L.
• Date: 2011
• Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/1822/12795
• Origin: RepositóriUM - Universidade do Minho
• Subject(s): Gellan gum; Intervertebral
• Document Type: Article
• Language: English

Description

Intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration is a challenging pathology that, due to the inefficiency of the current treatments, urgently demands for the development of new regenerative approaches[1]. The best viable implant material for nucleus pulposus (NP) regeneration has yet to be identified, but it is believed that biodegradable hydrogelbased materials are promising candidates[2]. In this work, we are proposing the use of ionic- and photocrosslinked methacrylated gellan gum (GG-MA) hydrogels as potential acellular and cellular injectable scaffolds for IVD regeneration.