Abstract
Hydrogel, a special system of polymer solutions, can be obtained through the physical/chemical/enzymic crosslinking of polymer chains in a water-based dispersion medium. Different compositions and crosslinking methods endow hydrogel with diverse physicochemical properties. Those hydrogels with suitable physicochemical properties hold manifold functions in biomedical fields, such as cell transplantation, tissue engineering, organ manufacturing, drug releasing and pathological model analysis. In this study, several alginate-based composite hydrogels, including gelatin/alginate (G-A), gelatin/alginate/agarose (G-A-A), fibrinogen/alginate (F-A), fibrinogen/alginate/agarose (F-A-A) and control alginate (A) and alginate/agarose (A-A), were constructed. We researched the advantages and disadvantages of these hydrogels in terms of their microscopic structure (cell living space), water holding capacity, swelling rate, swelling–erosion ratio, mechanical properties and biocompatibility. Briefly, alginate-based hydrogels can be used for three-dimensional (3D) cell culture alone. However, when mixed with other natural polymers in different proportions, a relatively stable network with a good cytocompatibility, mechanical strength and water holding capacity can be formed. The physical and chemical properties of the hydrogels can be adjusted by changing the composition, proportion and cross-linking methods of the polymers. Conclusively, the G-A-A and F-A-A hydrogels are the best hydrogels for the in vitro 3D cell cultures and pathological model construction.
Highlights
The normal survival, proliferation, differentials and communication of eucaryote cells are inseparable from the regulation of their surrounding microenvironment, which is mainly composed of body fluids, growth factors and extracellular matrices (ECMs)
DiFscoursisniovnitro 3D cell cultures, it is generally hoped that the hydrogels should have certaFinorphinysviictoroch3eDmiccealll pcruolptuerretise,sitwiisthgreensepreaclltytohtohpeeirdhtahradtntehses, hWyHdrCo,gSeRlsasnhdosuwldelhlianvgecertain physicochemical properties with respect to their hardness, water holding capacity (WHC), SR and swellingerosion ratio in order to mimic the natural ECMs in organisms [26–28]
A small amount (e.g., 0.5% w/v) of agarose is recommended to replace an equal proportion of alginate in the composite A-A hydrogel
Summary
The normal survival, proliferation, differentials and communication of eucaryote cells are inseparable from the regulation of their surrounding microenvironment, which is mainly composed of body fluids, growth factors and extracellular matrices (ECMs). In order to satisfy the in vitro construction requirements of bioartificial tissues/organs and bio-pathological models, it is vitally important to imitate the constituents (ingredients or components) of the ECMs [1]. A colloidal gel in which water is the dispersion medium of polymers, can better simulate the surrounding microenvironments of living cells and has wide applications in biomedical fields, such as cell transplantation, tissue engineering, organ manufacturing, drug releasing and pathological analysis [2]. The physicochemical properties of hydrogels can be adjusted through various physical (e.g., heating, light), chemical (e.g., ion catalysis) and biochemical (e.g., enzymatic) crosslinking reactions [3]. Ca2+ and other bivalent cations are bound to the “G-zone”, leading to the chemical crosslinking of alginates with an interpenetrating three-dimensional (3D) network [14–16]
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