A Study on Thiol-Michael Addition to Semi-Synthetic Elastin-Hyaluronan Material for Electrospun Scaffolds

Thiol-Michael addition is a chemical reaction extensively used for conjugating peptides to polysaccharides with applications as biomaterials. In the present study, for designing a bioactive element in electrospun scaffolds as wound dressing material, a chemical strategy for the semi-synthesis of a hyaluronan-elastin conjugate containing an amide linker (ELAHA) was developed in the presence of tris(2-carboxyethyl)phosphine hydrochloride (TCEP ⋅ HCl). The bioconjugate was electrospun with poly-D,L-lactide (PDLLA), obtaining scaffolds with appealing characteristics in terms of morphology and cell viability of dermal fibroblast cells. For comprehending the factors influencing the efficiency of the bioconjugation reaction, thiolated amino acids were also investigated as nucleophiles toward hyaluronan decorated with Michael acceptors in the presence of TCEP ⋅ HCl through the evaluation of byproducts formation.