Successful engineering of tissue constructs may one day allow routine replacement of damaged organs and tissues. Alginates are well established as matrix materials for cells or tissue within regenerative medicine, and have a promising potential in a variety of biomedical applications[1]. Alginates are naturally derived polysaccharides composed of (1-4)-linked beta-D-mannuronate (M-units) and alpha-L-guluronate(G-units) monomers, which vary in amount and sequential distribution along the polymer chain depending on the source of the alginate.
Alginates suitable for biomedical use are commercially available from NovaMatrix under the tradename PRONOVA. For improved cell functionality and viability, NovaMatrix introduced in 2006 the NOVATACH series of peptide-coupled alginates to facilitate and promote interaction between cells and alginate-based scaffolds and matrices. NOVATACH extends the range of high quality, well documented, ultrapure and low endotoxin PRONOVA alginates for cell therapy and tissue engineering applications, and has utility in formulations where cell-to-matrix interaction is beneficial. NOVATACH peptide-coupled alginates have been modified using aqueous carbodiimide chemistry to covalently graft peptide sequences to alginate molecules [2]. Cell interaction with biomaterials is mediated through transmembrane receptors that recognize adhesion molecules at material surfaces. The RGD peptide sequence is a common example of such adhesion ligand, and it has been shown that RGD-alginates successfully initiate biological interactions between alginate hydrogels and cells
NOVATACH peptide-coupled alginates are available in vials containing 100 mgs of mirco-filtered and lyophilized material. The following products and peptide sequences are currently available:
- NOVATACH G RGD (GRGDSP-coupled high G alginate)
- NOVATACH M RGD (GRGDSP-coupled high M alginate)
- NOVATACH G VAPG (VAPG-coupled high G alginate)
- NOVATACH M REDV (REDV-coupled high M alginate)
References: [1] J.E. Melvik, M. Dornish, Alginate as a carrier for cell immobilisation, Book Chapter: Fundamentals of cell Immobilisation Biotechnology (2004), ISBN 1-4020-1887-8, 33-51. [2] J.A. Rowley, G. Madlambayan, D.J. Mooney, Alginate hydrogels as synthetic extracellular matrix materials, Biomaterials 20 (1999), 45-53. [3] E. Alsberg, K.W. Anderson, A. Albeiruti, J.A. Rowley, D.J. Mooney, Engineering growing tissues, PNAS 99 (2002), 12025-12030.
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