title: High viability of cells encapsulated in degradable poly(carboxybetaine) hydrogels.
abstract: In this study, we report a degradable poly(carboxybetaine) (pCB) hydrogel, produced via a thiol-disulfide exchange reaction for cell encapsulation. A pCB dithiol was synthesized as a cross-linker and reacted with a pyridyl dithiol-containing CB copolymer to form a hydrogel. We evaluated the biocompatibility of the pCB-based hydrogel via encapsulation of three cell types, including NIH3T3 fibroblasts, MG63 osteoblast-like cells, and HepG2 hepatocarcinoma cells. Up to 90% of cells retained their viability in the pCB hydrogel even at low cell-seeding densities under serum-free conditions after a 9-day culture. Results are compared with a degradable poly(ethylene glycol) methacrylate (PEGMA) hydrogel, which showed very low cell viability under serum-free condition after a 3-day culture. We incorporated an RGD peptide into the CB hydrogel using a cysteine-terminated cross-linker, which was shown to promote cell proliferation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA.
authors.forename: Hsiu-Wen
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Chien
authors.forename: Xuewei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Jean-Rene
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Ella-Menye
authors.forename: Wei-Bor
authors.initials: WB
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.forename: Shaoyi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jiang