Injectable hyaluronan-methylcellulose composite hydrogel crosslinked by polyethylene glycol for central nervous system tissue engineering

•HAMC hydrogel was crosslinked by PEG to prolong the residence time.•Rheological properties and injectability were improved by the addition of PEG.•PEG-crosslinked HAMC had more stable microstructure with interconnected pores.•Cell viability depended on the concentration of HAMC hydrogel.

Spontaneous recovery ability of central nerves has inspired researchers to focus on tissue engineering techniques, especially scaffolds. To obtain a material with an appropriate degrading rate, an injectable composite hydrogel HAMC consisting of hyaluronic acid and methylcellulose was prepared using polyethylene glycol as a cross linker in this study. HAMC combined the advantages of two components to be fast-gelling, injectable, degradable, biocompatible, and it was able to meet some special shape requirement for injured tissue by in-situ forming. Moreover, due to the crosslinking effects polyethylene glycol brought to methylcellulose, the rheological properties and stability of HAMC were greatly improved, which could prolong the residence time of this hydrogel effectively. Cell viability results showed HAMC was cytocompatible for further applications in vivo, and would be a promising choice for neural tissue engineering in the future.