title: Photocrosslinkable kappa-carrageenan hydrogels for tissue engineering applications.
abstract: Kappa carrageenan (κ-CA) is a natural-origin polymer that closely mimics the glycosaminoglycan structure, one of the most important constituents of native tissues extracellular matrix. Previously, it has been shown that κ-CA can crosslink via ionic interactions rendering strong, but brittle hydrogels. In this study, we introduce photocrosslinkable methacrylate moieties on the κ-CA backbone to create physically and chemically crosslinked hydrogels highlighting their use in the context of tissue engineering. By varying the degree of methacrylation, the effect on hydrogel crosslinking was investigated in terms of hydration degree, dissolution profiles, morphological, mechanical, and rheological properties. Furthermore, the viability of fibroblast cells cultured inside the photocrosslinked hydrogels was investigated. The combination of chemical and physical crosslinking procedures enables the formation of hydrogels with highly versatile physical and chemical properties, while maintaining the viability of encapsulated cells. To our best knowledge, this is the first study reporting the synthesis of photocrosslinkable κ-CA with controllable compressive moduli, swelling ratios and pore size distributions. Moreover, by micromolding approaches, spatially controlled geometries and cell distribution patterns could be obtained, thus enabling the development of cell-material platforms that can be applied and tailored to a broad range of tissue engineering strategies.
authors.affiliation: Center for Biomedical Engineering, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge 02139, USA.
authors.forename: Silvia M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Mihaila
authors.forename: Akhilesh K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Gaharwar
authors.forename: Rui L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Reis
authors.forename: Alexandra P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Marques
authors.forename: Manuela E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Gomes
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Khademhosseini
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002351:Carrageenan / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000528:radiation effects; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000502:physiology*; D019245:Compressive Strength; D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000528:radiation effects; D055119:Elastic Modulus; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D006244:Hardness; D020100:Hydrogels / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000528:radiation effects; D008027:Light; D008422:Materials Testing; D051379:Mice; D041681:NIH 3T3 Cells; D010777:Photochemistry / Q000379:methods; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000295:instrumentation*; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds; D014783:Viscosity
chemical_list: D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents; D020100:Hydrogels; D002351:Carrageenan