Recent advances in gelatin-based therapeutics

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Biomaterials have provided a wide range of exciting opportunities in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Gelatin, a collagen-derived natural biopolymer, has been extensively used in regenerative medicine applications over the years, due to its cell-responsive properties and the capacity to deliver a wide range of biomolecules.

Areas covered: The most relevant properties of gelatin as biomaterial are presented together with its main therapeutic applications. The latter includes drug delivery systems, tissue engineering approaches, potential uses as ink for 3D/4D Bioprinting, and its relevance in organ-on-a-chip platforms.

Expert opinion: Advances in polymer chemistry, mechanobiology, imaging technologies, and 3D biofabrication techniques have expanded the application of gelatin in multiple biomedical research applications ranging from bone and cartilage tissue engineering, to wound healing and anti-cancer therapy. Here, we highlight the latest advances in gelatin-based approaches within the fields of biomaterial-based drug delivery and tissue engineering together with some of the most relevant challenges and limitations.

KEYWORDS:

• Biomaterial
• drug delivery
• gelatin
• regenerative medicine
• tissue engineering

Article highlights

• Gelatin is a collagen-derived protein with cell-responsive properties.

• Gelatin creates polyion complexes with charged therapeutic compounds.

• Crosslinked gelatin scaffolds are used for many 3D cell cultures in regenerative medicine.

• Gelatin is used in the fabrication of micro/nanocapsules for drug delivery.

This box summarizes key points contained in the article.

Declaration of interest

G Orive would like to acknowledge funding from project SAF2016-76,150-R from the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness and intellectual and technical assistance from the ICTS ‘NANBIOSIS’, more specifically by the Drug Formulation Unit (U10) of the CIBER in Bioengineering, Biomaterials & Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN) at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU). G Orive also acknowledgesfinancial support from the Basque Country Government (Grupos Consolidados, No ref: IT907-16, ELKARTEK 16/77). MC Echave MC gives thanks to the Basque Country Government (Departamento de Educación, Universidades e Investigación) for a granted fellowship. A Dolatshahi-Pirouz .acknowledges grant support from the Danish Council for Independent Research (Technology and Production Sciences, 5054–00142B), Danish Council for Independent Research (Technology and Production Sciences, 8105–00003B), Gigtforeningen (R139-A3864), and the Villum Foundation (10,103). The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

Reviewer Disclosures

Peer reviewers on this manuscript have no relevant financial relationships or otherwise to disclose.

Additional information

Funding

This paper was not funded.