Cell-instructive starPEG-heparin-collagen composite matrices.

Abstract

Cell-instructive materials play an important role in the generation of both regenerative therapies and advanced tissue and disease models. For that purpose, biofunctional polymer hydrogels recapitulating molecular cues of the extracellular matrix (ECM) were successfully applied in various different studies. However, hydrogels generally lack the hierarchical supramolecular structure of natural ECM. We have therefore developed a hydrogel composite material made from starPEG-peptide conjugates, maleimide-functionalized heparin and collagen type I fibrils. The collagen-laden scaffolds showed a heterogeneous local variation in the stiffness of the material. The composite gels were successfully tested in culture experiments with human umbilical cord vein endothelial cells and bone marrow-derived human mesenchymal stem cells. It was concluded that the composite scaffold was able to faithfully mimic important cell-instructive features of the ECM.