Gellan gum-based Hydrogel Bilayered Scaffolds for Osteochondral Tissue Engineering

It has been shown that hydrogel bilayered scaffolds combining cartilage- and bone-like
layers are most advantageous for treating osteochondral defects. In this study, it is proposed the use
of low acyl gellan gum (LAGG) for developing bilayered hydrogel scaffolds for osteochondral
tissue engineering. The cartilage-like layer of the GG-based bilayered hydrogel scaffolds is
composed of LAGG (2 wt%). By adding a 2 wt% LAGG aqueous solution to different amounts of
HAp (5-20 wt%) it was possible to produce the bone-like layer. In vitro bioactivity tests were
performed by means of soaking the LAGG/LAGG-HAp hydrogel scaffolds in a simulated body
fluid solution up to 14 days. Scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infra-red
spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction analyses demonstrated that apatite formation is limited to the
bone-like layer of the LAGG/LAGG-HAp bilayered hydrogel scaffolds.