Combinatorial Hydrogels with Biochemical Gradients for Screening 3D Cellular Microenvironments

摘要

A combinatorial hydrogel platform was developed that used light-mediated thiol-norbornene chemistry to encapsulate cells within hydrogels with biochemical gradients made by spatially varied light exposure. Specifically, mesenchymal stem cells were photoencapsulated in norbornene-modified hyaluronic acid hydrogels functionalized with gradients (0-5 mM) of peptides that mimic cell-cell or cell-matrix interactions, either as single or orthogonal gradients.