title: Supramolecular hydrogels inspired by collagen for tissue engineering.
abstract: Supramolecular hydrogels are promising biomaterials for cell culture in 2-D and 3-D environments. Inspired by the chemical structure of collagen, which bears the repeating tripeptide of glycine-Xaa-4R-hydroxyproline (GXO; Xaa is any one of the natural amino acids), we designed and synthesized a small library of supramolecular hydrogelators (a total of 6). We found that four of the hydrogels were suitable for NIH 3T3 cell culture in the 2-D environments. Gel 2, the best hydrogel, has properties that are similar to those of collagen for 3T3 cell culture. These findings not only provide more supramolecular hydrogel candidates for tissue engineering, but also offer a new strategy for designing biomaterials that mimic nature.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Bioactive Materials, Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Yuehan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Huaimin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Jingyu
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Sibing
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Wang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Liao
authors.forename: Yonggang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Yongjun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Deling
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kong
authors.forename: Zhimou
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D040761:Biomimetic Materials / Q000737:chemistry*; D003094:Collagen / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D020100:Hydrogels / Q000737:chemistry*; D051379:Mice; D041681:NIH 3T3 Cells; D009281:Naphthalenes / Q000737:chemistry; D009842:Oligopeptides / Q000737:chemistry; D012212:Rheology; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D020100:Hydrogels; D009281:Naphthalenes; D009842:Oligopeptides; C031721:naphthalene; D003094:Collagen