Covalent tethering of signaling proteins to hydrogels through a reversible thiol-ene bioconjugation

摘要

We have demonstrated that the allyl sulfide moiety enables reversible thiol-ene reactions to tether and release signaling proteins from hydrogels. Importantly, this process can be repeated through multiple iterations. We used this methodology to tether TGF-β1 to hydrogels with spatial control, and only cells within the TGF-β1-patterned region responded. We also demonstrated that TGF-β1 can be released from the hydrogel in situ through a subsequent thiol-ene reaction, and cells return to a basal state.