果胶凝胶在生物医学应用上的研究进展

Advances in Biomedical Applications of Pectin Gels

果胶支链多、分子量大,可以转化为水凝胶,形成聚合物链的网状结构,使果胶在水中聚集起来而不溶于水。由于果胶有简单的细胞相容性胶凝机制,最近已被开发用于不同的生物医学领域,包括药物递送、基因递送、伤口愈合和组织工程。这里将讨论果胶的结构、来源和提取程序对多糖性能的影响,以便优化凝胶的形成,得到所期望的有一定应用的凝胶,建立它在医学领域中的基础性作用。

Pectin is a branched macromolecule with high molecular weight, which can be converted into hydrogels, intended as flexible network of polymer chains that can swell but do not dissolve in water. Pectin, due to its simple and cytocompatible gelling mechanism, has been recently exploited for different biomedical applications including drug delivery, gene delivery, wound healing and tissue engineering. Pectin sources and extraction methodologies are reviewed, in view of the final properties determining the gelling mechanisms and the possible biomedical applications. Pectin structure, sources and extraction procedures have been discussed focussing on the properties of the polysaccharide that can be tuned to optimize the gels for a desired application and possess a fundamental role in application of pectin in the biomedical field.