Reversible hydrogels with tunable mechanical properties for optically controlling cell migration

Wu, Xin; Huang, Wenguang; Wu, Wenhao; Xue, Bin; Xiang, Dongfang; Liu, Ying; Qin, Meng; Sun, Fei; Wang, Wei; Zhang, Wenbing; Cao, Yi

doi:10.1007/s12274-017-1890-y

Cited by 102 publications

(89 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…Apart from being used to release biological material from hydrogels, photoresponsive proteins, such as Dronpa145N, have been also investigated to reversibly form hydrogels . Due to its ability to form tetramers under cyan light (500 nm) and revert to monomers upon irradiation with violet light (400 nm), this versatile protein can even allow the formation of patterns on hydrogels via stereolithographic techniques . Similar approaches in the reversible formation of hydrogels were reported using the mutant protein Cph1 Y263F, and the pair PhyB FR /PIF .…”

Section: Hydrogel Scaffold Productionmentioning

confidence: 95%

The Role of Photochemical Reactions in the Development of Advanced Soft Materials for Biomedical Applications

Fernandez‐Villamarin

Brooks

Mendes

2019

Advanced Optical Materials

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In the biomedical field, many innovative materials to improve diagnosis and treatment of diseases are currently being developed. The ability to respond to different stimuli is one of the more interesting properties of such materials. Light, as one of the nature's elementary stimuli, offers an attractive and flexible stimulus for controlling the properties and functions of biomedical‐related materials. As such, photoresponsive systems have been increasingly pursued and finding applications in various biomedical settings, ranging from tissue engineering for the fabrication of bespoke tissue scaffolds to drug delivery, aims at manipulating treatment distribution inside the human body. Efforts have also been devoted to the development of highly efficient methods to control biological activity and bring us closer to mimicking impressive biological actuators. In this progress report, an overview of recent developments in the field is provided and current challenges discussed. Key strategies tailored to address specific issues are examined, offering useful perspectives for future designs.

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Section: Hydrogel Scaffold Productionmentioning

confidence: 95%

The Role of Photochemical Reactions in the Development of Advanced Soft Materials for Biomedical Applications

Fernandez‐Villamarin

Brooks

Mendes

2019

Advanced Optical Materials

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“…[23] In contrast, hydrogels cross-linked with photosensitive groups can exhibit up to an order of magnitude difference in modulus in the presence of light, but the highest value achieved was only %2 kPa, limiting their use to nonstructural applications. [10] To circumvent these limitations, we introduce an alternative setup shown in Figure 1a, which is commonly used for the electrolytic refining of metals such as Cu and Ni. [25] In this electrolytic cell, the electrodes are made up of a noninert metal (Cu, for this study), so that the application of a potential bias will cause the metal to dissolve at the anode due to oxidation and get redeposited at the cathode through reduction of the metal ion.…”

Section: Doi: 101002/adem201900833mentioning

confidence: 99%

Precise Dynamic Control of the Mechanical and Self‐Healing Properties of an Electrolytic Cell with Soluble Porous Anode

2020

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The performance of engineering products is inherently dependent on the properties of its constituent materials. Because these properties are mostly fixed for each material, the range of requirements that the engineering product can satisfy is consequently very narrow. The environment that these engineering parts operate in, however, can be very dynamic, requiring quick and substantial property modifications for optimal performance. For instance, to effectively attenuate acoustic noise, [1-3] impact, [4-7] or seismic waves, [8,9] materials with stiffnesses and strengths that can be temporally varied are needed. Similarly, tumor cell migration rates can be controlled in real time by hydrogels with variable stiffness. [10,11] Having materials with dynamic mechanical properties would also allow for the reconciliation of soft robotics, which has the advantages of dexterity and interacting safely with delicate bodies, [12-15] with conventional hard robotics, which is needed to bear and transmit large loads, [12,16] within a single machine. Moreover, having a versatile product that can meet a wide range of requirements eliminates the need for multiple specialized parts with dedicated functions, such as functionally graded materials, [4,17] thus reducing energy and material wastage, leading to a positive ecological impact. One of the easiest methods to induce changes in mechanical properties is to spatially compact a given structure. A biological body does this with muscular contractions, for instance, in a human tongue and elephant trunk, [12] whereas structural foams can be infused with magnetic particles, either in the struts [2] or in the pores, [6] so that the material will stiffen in the presence of a magnetic field. However, a constant energy input is required to maintain this property change and the accompanying alteration in volume may be undesirable, especially if the material is part of an assembly with tight tolerances. An alternative method that has been explored involves heating/cooling a material to induce a phase change. [18,19] For a low-melting-point alloy (e.g., Field's metal), this change in phase is between a solid and liquid, which can lead to a modulus variation over four orders of magnitude. [19] In the case of shape memory polymers (SMPs), the phase change occurs when they are heated above their glass transition temperature, and two to three orders of magnitude change in flexural rigidity of these beams have been demonstrated. [20,21] Although the change in stiffness can be very large using these techniques, the property variation is essentially binary because it is difficult to control and maintain the relative amounts of stiff and soft material at the melting point or glass transition temperature. Furthermore, the temperature change involved may not be ideal for applications involving sensitive environments (e.g., biomedical settings). It has also been shown recently that the application of an electrochemical potential to a nanoporous gold foam can cause the adsorption of a submonolayer of oxyg...

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“…Generally, most photo-responsive hydrogels are based on the switch between oligomeric and monomeric states of proteins upon light illumination. For example, the reversible change between tetramers and monomers of Dronpa145N can lead to photo-controlled gel-sol transition or reversible change of the stiffness of the hydrogels (Lyu et al, 2017;Xin et al, 2017). Similarly, the switch between dimeric and monomeric states of cyanobacterial phytochrome 1 can lead to the reversible softening and strengthening of the hydrogels, which allowed dynamic control of the migration of immune cells and mechanotransduction of stem cells (Hörner et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hydrogels With Tunable Mechanical Properties Based on Photocleavable Proteins

Xiang

Cao

et al. 2020

Front. Chem.

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Hydrogels with photo-responsive mechanical properties have found broad biomedical applications, including delivering bioactive molecules, cell culture, biosensing, and tissue engineering. Here, using a photocleavable protein, PhoCl, as the crosslinker we engineer two types of poly(ethylene glycol) hydrogels whose mechanical stability can be weakened or strengthened, respectively, upon visible light illumination. In the photo weakening hydrogels, photocleavage leads to rupture of the protein crosslinkers, and decrease of the mechanical properties of the hydrogels. In contrast, in the photo strengthening hydrogels, by properly choosing the crosslinking positions, photocleavage does not rupture the crosslinking sites but exposes additional cryptical reactive cysteine residues. When reacting with extra maleimide groups in the hydrogel network, the mechanical properties of the hydrogels can be enhanced upon light illumination. Our study indicates that photocleavable proteins could provide more designing possibilities than the small-molecule counterparts. A proof-of-principle demonstration of spatially controlling the mechanical properties of hydrogels was also provided.

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Reversible hydrogels with tunable mechanical properties for optically controlling cell migration

Cited by 102 publications

References 43 publications

The Role of Photochemical Reactions in the Development of Advanced Soft Materials for Biomedical Applications

The Role of Photochemical Reactions in the Development of Advanced Soft Materials for Biomedical Applications

Precise Dynamic Control of the Mechanical and Self‐Healing Properties of an Electrolytic Cell with Soluble Porous Anode

Hydrogels With Tunable Mechanical Properties Based on Photocleavable Proteins

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