title: A saccharide-based supramolecular hydrogel for cell culture.
abstract: It is well known that the saccharides forming the intricate sugar coat that surrounds the cells play important biological roles in intercellular communication and cell differentiation. Therefore, it is worthwhile developing saccharide-based hydrogels for cell culture study. In this study, three novel saccharide-based compounds were designed and synthesized. It was found that one of them could form hydrogels efficiently, while the other two precipitated from water. The stability of the resulting hydrogel was tested, and the supramolecular nanofiber with fiber diameters in the range of 80-300nm was characterized as the structural element by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Fluorescence microscopy revealed that extensive hydrogen bonds between sugar rings assisted the formation of efficient π-π stacking between aromatic naphthalene groups, thus resulting in the formation of a stable hydrogel in aqueous solution. When the gel was applied for mouse embryonic fibroblast (NIH 3T3), human hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2), AD293 and HeLa cells culture in two dimensional environments, all of them showed a very good adhesion and good proliferation rate on the top of the hydrogel. These results indicates that the biocompatible hydrogel reported here has a potential to be developed into useful materials for in vitro cell culture, drug delivery, and tissue engineering.
authors.affiliation: College of Pharmacy and Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Drug Research, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, PR China.
authors.forename: Wenjun
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Huaimin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Chunhua
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.forename: Jingyu
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Zhimou
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Peng G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002236:Carbohydrate Conformation; D002241:Carbohydrates / Q000737:chemistry*; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D006031:Glycosylation; D006367:HeLa Cells; D056945:Hep G2 Cells; D006801:Humans; D020100:Hydrogels / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology; D051379:Mice; D008958:Models, Molecular; D041681:NIH 3T3 Cells; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence
chemical_list: D002241:Carbohydrates; D020100:Hydrogels