Tailoring the Degradation Time of Polycationic PEG-Based Hydrogels toward Dynamic Cell Culture Matrices.
Kathrin KowalczukValentin D WegnerAlexander S MosigFelix Helmut SchacherPublished in: ACS applied bio materials (2024)
Poly(ethylene glycol)-based (PEG) hydrogels provide an ideal platform to obtain well-defined and tailor-made cell culture matrices to enhance in vitro cell culture conditions, although cell adhesion is often challenging when the cells are cultivated on the substrate surface. We herein demonstrate two approaches for the synthesis of polycationic PEG-based hydrogels which were modified to enhance cell-matrix interactions, to improve two-dimensional (2D) cell culture, and catalyze hydrolytic degradation. While the utilization of N , N -(bisacryloxyethyl) amine (BAA) as cross-linker for in situ gelation provides degradable scaffolds for dynamic cell culture, the incorporation of short segments of poly( N -(3-(dimethylamino)propyl)acrylamide) (PDMAPAam) provides high local cationic charge density leading to PEG-based hydrogels with high selectivity for fibroblastic cell lines. The adsorption of transforming growth factor (TGF-β) into the hydrogels induced stimulation of fibrosis and thus the formation of collagen as a natural ECM compound. With this, these dynamic hydrogels enhance in vitro cell culture by providing a well-defined, artificial, and degradable matrix that stimulates cells to produce their own natural scaffold within a defined time frame.
Keyphrases
- drug delivery
- tissue engineering
- transforming growth factor
- hyaluronic acid
- extracellular matrix
- drug release
- wound healing
- induced apoptosis
- cell cycle arrest
- epithelial mesenchymal transition
- cell adhesion
- oxidative stress
- single cell
- stem cells
- cell proliferation
- high throughput
- bone marrow
- mesenchymal stem cells
- diabetic rats
- cell therapy
- high glucose