Although
hydrogels are extensively investigated as biomaterials
due to their ability to mimic cellular microenvironments, they are
often limited by their poor physical properties in response to mechanical
loads, including weak gel strength, brittleness, and permanent deformation.
Recently, interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) hydrogels have gained
substantial attention for their use in investigating changes in encapsulated
cell behaviors under mechanical stimulation. However, despite recent
success in developing highly elastic IPN-structured hydrogels, it
remains a great technical challenge to endow them with biocompatibility
and biodegradability due to use of toxic chemicals, nonbiodegradable
prepolymers, and harsh reaction conditions. In this study, we report
on the synthesis and formation of highly elastic and tough IPN-structured
hydrogels based on alginate and gelatin, which are biocompatible and
biodegradable. Mechanical stimulation enhanced the proliferation and
osteogenic differentiation of encapsulated human mesenchymal stem
cells in the IPN-structured hydrogels. These new biocompatible, biodegradable,
and tough elastomeric hydrogels provide an exciting platform for studying
stem cell behaviors such as proliferation and differentiation under
mechanical stimulation and may broaden the applications of hydrogels
in the fields of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.
A novel biodegradable, biocompatible alginate-PEG hydrogel microwell system was developed with tailorable microwell physical and biochemical properties to control the uniform formation and behavior of three-dimensional multicellular human adipose tissue-derived stem cell spheroids.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.