Design properties of hydrogel tissue-engineering scaffolds.
This article summarizes the recent progress in the design and synthesis of hydrogels as tissue-engineering scaffolds. Hydrogels are attractive scaffolding materials owing to their highly swollen network structure, ability to encapsulate cells and bioactive molecules, and efficient mass transfer. Various polymers, including natural, synthetic and natural/synthetic hybrid polymers, have been used to make hydrogels via chemical or physical crosslinking. Recently, bioactive synthetic hydrogels have emerged as promising scaffolds because they can provide molecularly tailored biofunctions and adjustable mechanical properties, as well as an extracellular matrix-like microenvironment for cell growth and tissue formation. This article addresses various strategies that have been explored to design synthetic hydrogels with extracellular matrix-mimetic bioactive properties, such as cell adhesion, proteolytic degradation and growth factor-binding.
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA. junmin.zhu@case.edu
Junmin
J
Zhu
Roger E
RE
Marchant
D000818:Animals; D032701:Biomimetics; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D020136:Hydrogel, Polyethylene Glycol Dimethacrylate / Q000737:chemistry*; D020100:Hydrogels / Q000737:chemistry; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / Q000737:chemistry; D008422:Materials Testing; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D008970:Molecular Weight; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000737:chemistry; D013499:Surface Properties; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds
D020100:Hydrogels; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D011134:Polysaccharides; D020136:Hydrogel, Polyethylene Glycol Dimethacrylate; D004247:DNA