Hybrid Elastin-like Polypeptide-Polyethylene Glycol (ELP-PEG) Hydrogels with Improved Transparency and Independent Control of Matrix Mechanics and Cell Ligand Density
Artikel i vetenskaplig tidskrift, 2014

Hydrogels have been developed as extracellular matrix (ECM) mimics both for therapeutic applications and basic biological studies. In particular, elastin-like polypeptide (ELP) hydrogels, which can be tuned to mimic several biochemical and physical characteristics of native ECM, have been constructed to encapsulate various types of cells to create in vitro mimics of in vivo tissues. However, ELP hydrogels become opaque at body temperature because of ELP's lower critical solution temperature behavior. This opacity obstructs light-based observation of the morphology and behavior of encapsulated cells. In order to improve the transparency of ELP hydrogels for better imaging, we have designed a hybrid ELP-polyethylene glycol (PEG) hydrogel system that rapidly cross-links with tris(hydroxymethyl) phosphine (THP) in aqueous solution via Mannich-type condensation. As expected, addition of the hydrophilic PEG component significantly improves the light transmittance. Coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) microscopy reveals that the hybrid ELP-PEG hydrogels have smaller hydrophobic ELP aggregates at 37 C. Importantly, this hydrogel platform enables independent tuning of adhesion ligand density and matrix stiffness, which is desirable for studies of cell matrix interactions. Human fibroblasts encapsulated in these hydrogels show high viability (>98%) after 7 days of culture. High-resolution confocal microscopy of encapsulated fibroblasts reveals that the cells adopt a more spread morphology in response to higher RGD ligand concentrations and softer gel mechanics.

BIOMATERIALS

ALGINATE HYDROGELS

DENSITY

CULTURE

TISSUE ENGINEERING APPLICATIONS

PROTEIN-BASED POLYMERS

ADHESION

STEM-CELLS

RGD

MICROENVIRONMENTS

CROSS-LINKING

Författare

H. Y. Wang

Stanford University

L. Cai

Stanford University

Alexandra Paul

Chalmers, Kemi- och bioteknik, Molekylär mikroskopi

Annika Enejder

Chalmers, Kemi- och bioteknik, Molekylär mikroskopi

S. C. Heilshorn

Stanford University

Biomacromolecules

1525-7797 (ISSN) 1526-4602 (eISSN)

Vol. 15 9 3421-3428

Ämneskategorier

Biokemi och molekylärbiologi

DOI

10.1021/bm500969d

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Senast uppdaterat

2018-03-06