Chitosan hydrogels enriched with polyphenols: Antibacterial activity, cell adhesion and growth and mineralization

Injectable hydrogels for bone regeneration consisting of chitosan, sodium beta-glycerophosphate (Na-β-GP) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were enriched with the polyphenols phloroglucinol (PG) and gallic acid (GA) and characterized physicochemically and biologically with respect to properties relevant for applications in bone regeneration, namely gelation kinetics, mineralizability, antioxidant properties, antibacterial activity, cytocompatibility and ability to support adhesion and growth of human osteoblast-like MG63 cells. Enrichment with PG and GA had no negative effect on gelation kinetics and mineralizability. PG and GA both enhanced antioxidant activity of unmineralized hydrogels. Mineralization reduced antioxidant activity of hydrogels containing GA. Hydrogels containing GA, PG and without polyphenols reduced colony forming ability of Escherichia coli after 1 h, 3 h and 6 h incubation and slowed E. coli growth in liquid culture for 150 min. Hydrogels containing GA were cytotoxic and supported cell growth more poorly than polyphenol-free hydrogels. PG had no negative effect on cell adhesion and growth.