Decellularization and characterization of leek: a potential cellulose-based biomaterial

Cellulose, which is easily attainable in nature, has been studied due to its biocompatibility, low cytotoxicity, adjustable biomechanical properties and cost effectiveness as a biomaterial. Recently, plant-derived cellulose-based biomaterials were given attention for numerous applications including bone, cartilage and cardiac tissue engineering. In this study, leek (Allium porrum) was chosen as a plant tissue model for the fabrication of a potential biomaterial due to its structural morphology (interconnected and elongated channel like structural morphology). Leek tissues were decellularized by a detergent solution. The degree of residual cell content was evaluated by DNA and protein quantification as well as immunostaining. Chemical and mechanical properties were tested for both native and decellularized leek samples in order to investigate the effect of decellularization on the structure. Swelling, degradation and protein adsorption behavior of decellularized leek samples were also studied. In order to enhance cell adhesion, decellularized leek samples were modified with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane, octadecyltrichlorosilane and coated with graphene oxide prior to cell seeding. SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma cells were used for mammalian cell culture studies. MTT cell viability assay and SEM imaging were performed to observe the cell adhesion and morphology. Decellularized leek tissues are expected to be cellulose based biomaterial for candidate biomedical applications both in vitro and in vivo in future studies. Graphic abstract