Abstract
As mechanical properties of cell culture substrates matter, methods for mechanical characterization of scaffolds on a relevant length scale are required. We used multiple particle tracking microrheology to close the gap between elasticity determined from bulk measurements and elastic properties sensed by cells. Structure and elasticity of macroporous, three-dimensional cryogel scaffolds from mixtures of hyaluronic acid (HA) and collagen (Coll) were characterized. Both one-component gels formed homogeneous networks, whereas hybrid gels were heterogeneous in terms of elasticity. Most strikingly, local elastic moduli were significantly lower than bulk moduli presumably due to non-equilibrium chain conformations between crosslinks. This was more pronounced in Coll and hybrid gels than in pure HA gels. Local elastic moduli were similar for all gels, irrespective of their different swelling ratio and bulk moduli. Fibroblast cell culture proved the biocompatibility of all investigated compositions. Coll containing gels enabled cell migration, adhesion and proliferation inside the gels.
Highlights
Scaffolds for successful tissue engineering must be biodegradable and biocompatible, with an open, macroporous three-dimensional architecture and should have appropriate mechanical properties closely mimicking those of the natural extra cellular matrix (ECM) [1].Mechanical properties play a fundamental role in resistance and stability of the gels and alter cell migration, adhesion, proliferation and metabolism [2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9]
Microstructure, local viscoelasticity and cell culture suitability of 3D hybrid hyaluronic acid (HA)/collagen scaffolds polymer concentration of 2–3 wt% composed of 3% HA (Fig 1A and 1E), 2% Coll (Fig 1B and 1F) as well as a mixtures of HA and Coll (Fig 1C, 1D, 1G and 1H)
We investigated the influence of Coll concentration on material properties and cell culture suitability of HA based cryogel scaffolds
Summary
Scaffolds for successful tissue engineering must be biodegradable and biocompatible, with an open, macroporous three-dimensional architecture and should have appropriate mechanical properties closely mimicking those of the natural extra cellular matrix (ECM) [1].Mechanical properties play a fundamental role in resistance and stability of the gels and alter cell migration, adhesion, proliferation and metabolism [2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9]. Mechanical properties of hydrogels were generally characterized using bulk rheological measurements [3,4,6,7,10,11,12], as well as uniaxial compression tests [13,14,15,16,17]. These latter assess the Young’s modulus E which characterizes bulk elasticity of an entire sample on a macroscopic scale. Cell behavior is significantly influenced by the elasticity of the direct microenvironment [18], which may not be well characterized by the bulk
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