Biocompatible hydrogels based on food gums with tunable physicochemical properties as scaffolds for cell culture

Hydrogels composed of food gums have gained attention for future biomedical applications, such as targeted delivery and tissue engineering. For their translation to clinical utilization, reliable biocompatibility, sufficient mechanical performance and tunable structure of polysaccharide hydrogels are required aspects. In this work, we report a unique hybrid polysaccharide hydrogel composed of salecan and curdlan in which the former is a thickening agent and the latter serves as a network matrix. The physicochemical properties like mechanical strength, thermal stability, swelling and morphology of the developed composite hydrogel can be accurately modulated by varying the polysaccharide content. Importantly, cytotoxicity assays show the non-toxicity of this hybrid hydrogel. Furthermore, this hydrogel system can support cell proliferation, migration and function. Altogether, our work proposes a new strategy to build polysaccharide-constructed hydrogel scaffold, which holds much promise for tissue engineerin...