Effect of crosslinkers on physical properties of gelatin hollow tubes for tissue engineering application

The present study aims to fabricate a tubular scaffold for the application of tissue engineering of small intestine. Gelatin solutions with concentrations of 10, 15, and 20 wt% were cross-linked using glutaraldehyde (GA) and 1-ethyl- 3-3-dimethylaminopropyl carbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC) in a mold to give hollow tubes. The extent of crosslinking reached 80 % when EDC was used, whereas it reached only 30% using GA. When observed under a scanning electron microscope (SEM), the outer surface of EDC-crosslinked gelatin tube was found to be smoother than that of the GA groups. However, the inner surfaces of both EDC and GA groups were smooth. The swelling ratio increased to 600 % in GA groups, and 300 % in EDC groups. A significant difference was shown in the Young's modulus of GA-and EDC-crosslinked tubes composed of 20 wt% gelatin. The present work provides a method of fabrication of crosslinked gelatin hollow tubes. For further study, we are comparing the static and dynamic culture of smooth muscle cells in the gelatin hollow tubes.