Gelatin Hydrogel Combined with Polydopamine Coating To Enhance Tissue Integration of Medical Implants

Soft tissue integration of medical implants is important to prevent bacterial infection and implant failure. A bioadhesive that forms firm binding between the implant and the surrounding tissue and facilitates the wound-healing process will be a great tool to establish the desired tissue-implant integration. In this project, we introduce a novel method that can be used to enhance integration between any implant material and any tissue using an enzyme-crosslinked gelatin hydrogel combined with polydopamine (PDA) coating. PDA coating was shown to enhance the binding between the gelatin hydrogel and three model implant materials - aluminum, poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and titanium. When combined with the gelatin hydrogel, pig cornea tissue adhered more strongly to the PDA coated surfaces than to the uncoated surfaces. The enzyme-crosslinked gelatin hydrogel was non-cytotoxic to human dermal fibroblasts and it also allowed the cells to adhere and proliferate. Altogether, the results indicate that the combination of PDA coating with gelatin hydrogel can be used to enhance the integration of various medical implants.