Guided differentiation of induced pluripotent stem cells into neuronal lineage in alginate–chitosan–gelatin hydrogels with surface neuron growth factor

The understanding of differentiating induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells in porous biomaterials is a critical challenge in recent biotechnological development. This study presents the investigation on the differentiation of iPS cells toward neurons in biomedical scaffolds containing alginate, chitosan, and gelatin with grafted neuron growth factor (NGF). Alginate–chitosan–gelatin scaffolds were prepared by particulate leaching method using polystyrene (PS) microspheres as porogen. In addition, the neuronal differentiation of iPS cells in the constructs was identified by immunochemical staining. The morphological studies demonstrated that an increase in the concentration of PS microspheres from 0.5 to 0.75 g/mL improved the pore regularity in alginate–chitosan–gelatin hydrogels. The effect of composition on the differentiation of iPS cells into neuronal lineage was in the order where alginate:chitosan:gelatin = 1:1:3 > 2:1:2 > 1:1:1. Moreover, an increase in the concentration of NGF promoted the neuronal production from iPS cells in cultivated constructs. Alginate–chitosan–gelatin scaffolds with surface NGF can guide the differentiation of iPS cells for regenerating neurons.

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► PS microspheres with 0.75 g/mL favor the formation of regular spherical pores in hydrogels.
► A higher weight percentage of gelatin yields a faster differentiation of iPS cells into neurons.
► An increasing quantity of NGF in constructs promotes the neuronal differentiation of iPS cells.