Crosslinking Density Modulates Chondrocyte Adhesion And Proliferation On Photocrosslinked Oligo(poly(ethylene Glycol) Fumarate) Hydrogels

摘要

Injectable hydrogels can be used in restoration of orthopedic defects by delivering cells to the site of injury. These hydrogels should be degradable to allow space for neotissue growth. Oligo(poly(ethylene glycol) fumarate) (OPF), a novel oligomer has been recently developed by Jo et al. OPF can be crosslinked through the unsaturated double bonds in the fumarate groups and hydrolytically degradaded through its ester bonds. It has been shown that thermally crosslinked OPF is biodegradable and the mechanical properties and degradation rates of resulting hydrogels are controllable by the molecular weight of the PEG used in macromer formation. In this study, we applied UV light and Irgacure 2959, a cytocompat-ible photoinitiator, for crosslinking of OPF. We investigated the effect of crosslinking density on the mechanical property and swelling behavior of OPF hydrogels as well as their in vitro degradation. This study also tests the hypothesis that changes in hydrogel properties influence adhesion and proliferation of cultured chondrocytes on these hydrogels.