Synthetic Approaches to Designing Responsive Hydrogels for Dynamic Cell Culture

Physical and chemical cell microenvironment properties have become increasingly recognized as regulators of cellular functions^1-4 such as migration, cytoskeletal organization, and differentiation.  While advances have been made in the fabrication of materials for cell culture, the properties of these material systems typically are fixed upon formation.  In situ control of material properties is needed to study their effect on dynamic cellular processes such as differentiation and migration.  Here, we will discuss synthetic approaches for stimuli triggered control of material properties, specifically hydrogel modulus and epitope presentation, via the incorporation of photolytically^{5, 6} or enzymatically⁷ cleavable sequences within the gel-forming macromers and resulting hydrogels.  Utilizing these materials, we will examine the influence of microenvironment structure on cell function, specifically epithelial cell phenotype and assembly.  Incorporation of photolytically or enzymatically degradable sequences within monomers and hydrogels enables the design of unique, dynamic cell culture platforms for exploring how changes in properties influence cell fate.

References

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