Porous hydrogel of wool keratin prepared by a novel method: An extraction with guanidine/2-mercaptoethanol solution followed by a dialysis

•We prepared a sponge-like porous keratin hydrogel by a novel method.•We used guanidine with 2-mercaptoethanol to extract keratin from wool fiber.•Extracted keratin was recrosslinked to form a porous keratin hydrogel in dialysis.•The keratin hydrogel had a high mechanical strength.•Three types of cells attached on the keratin hydrogel proliferated well.

In this study, we show a novel simple method to prepare a sponge-like porous keratin hydrogel through the extraction of wool keratin in a solution containing guanidine hydrochloride and 2-mercaptoethanol followed by dialysis for both aggregation of keratin and recrosslink. The gel had a highly porous structure and a fast-swelling property in rehydration after freeze-drying. It had also high mechanical strength both in the tensile test and the measurement of dynamic viscoelasticity. Three types of animal cells, PC12 cells, HOS cells and murine embryonic fibroblasts, well attached and grew on the surface of the porous hydrogel.

Graphical abstractWe show a novel simple method to prepare a sponge-like porous keratin hydrogel (A, B) through the extraction of wool keratin in a solution containing guanidine hydrochloride and 2-mercaptoethanol followed by dialysis for both aggregation of keratin and recrosslink. The gel had a highly porous structure (B) and a fast-swelling property in rehydration after freeze-drying. It had also high mechanical strength both in the tensile test (C) and the measurement of dynamic viscoelasticity (D). Three types of animal cells, PC12 cells (E), HOS cells (F) and murine embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) (G), well attached and grew on the surface of the porous hydrogel.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide