Preparation and characterization of sodium alginate/Antarctic krill protein/Genipin scaffold for skin tissue engineering

In this study, sodium alginate (SA)/Antarctic krill protein(AKP)/Genipin (GP) scaffold was obtained by freeze-drying, in which Antarctic krill protein was used as enhanced the cell adsorption activity of the materials; GP and Ca²⁺, which have very low cytotoxicity, were selected to cross-link AKP and SA in steps, the interpenetrating network structure of “covalent cross-linking-ion complex-hydrogen bonding” was finally constructed. By changing the content of GP, the structure, surface morphology, mechanical properties, water absorption, water retention, and cytotoxicity of the scaffold were studied using FTIR, SEM, and other test methods. The results showed that the pore area of the prepared SA/AKP/GP scaffolds exhibited an increase and then a decrease with the increase of GP content; the fracture strength and elongation at break exhibited an increase and then a decrease with the increase of GP content. The breaking strength and elongation at break achieved their maximum values of 32.9 MPa and 4.43% when the content of GP hit 0.8%; The scaffold had good water absorption and water retention; The cytotoxicity grade of the scaffold was grade 0, and the addition of AKP made the fibroblasts have good growth and proliferation ability on the scaffold.