title: Photo-crosslinkable, biomimetic, and thermo-sensitive pluronic grafted hyaluronic acid copolymers for injectable delivery of chondrocytes.
abstract: Hyaluronic acid (HA) grafted with Pluronic F127 copolymer was used as biomimetic hydrogels for cell delivery. The graft copolymer was synthesized by conjugating amine end-capped Pluronic F127 to carboxylic groups of HA using coupling agents. The synthesized HA-g-Pluronic exhibited thermo-sensitive sol-gel transition behaviors over the temperature range of 20-40 degrees C. HA-g-Pluronic copolymers with vinyl groups were photo-crosslinked to prepare more robust hydrogels for cell cultivation. For improved cellular adhesion and proliferation, cell adhesive peptide (Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD)) was additionally conjugated to the HA backbone. The resultant thermo-sensitive, photocrosslinkable, and RGD modified HA-g-Pluronic copolymers were used to encapsulate and cultivate bovine chondrocytes in vitro. A tissue containing cartilage-like components such as GAG and type II collagen was successfully produced within the hydrogels, indicating that the synthesized HA-g-Pluronic copolymers can be potentially used as an injectable cell carrier.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 305-701, Korea South.
authors.forename: Hyukjin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Tae Gwan
authors.initials: TG
authors.lastname: Park
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D040761:Biomimetic Materials / Q000737:chemistry*; D002417:Cattle; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D019902:Chondrocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents / Q000737:chemistry*; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid / Q000737:chemistry*; D007267:Injections; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D015394:Molecular Structure; D044367:Phase Transition; D010777:Photochemistry; D011095:Polyethylenes / Q000737:chemistry*; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D011126:Polypropylenes / Q000737:chemistry*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents; D011095:Polyethylenes; D011108:Polymers; D011126:Polypropylenes; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid; C078661:UCON 50-HB-5100