title: Synthesis, properties, and biomedical applications of gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) hydrogels.
abstract: Gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) hydrogels have been widely used for various biomedical applications due to their suitable biological properties and tunable physical characteristics. GelMA hydrogels closely resemble some essential properties of native extracellular matrix (ECM) due to the presence of cell-attaching and matrix metalloproteinase responsive peptide motifs, which allow cells to proliferate and spread in GelMA-based scaffolds. GelMA is also versatile from a processing perspective. It crosslinks when exposed to light irradiation to form hydrogels with tunable mechanical properties. It can also be microfabricated using different methodologies including micromolding, photomasking, bioprinting, self-assembly, and microfluidic techniques to generate constructs with controlled architectures. Hybrid hydrogel systems can also be formed by mixing GelMA with nanoparticles such as carbon nanotubes and graphene oxide, and other polymers to form networks with desired combined properties and characteristics for specific biological applications. Recent research has demonstrated the proficiency of GelMA-based hydrogels in a wide range of tissue engineering applications including engineering of bone, cartilage, cardiac, and vascular tissues, among others. Other applications of GelMA hydrogels, besides tissue engineering, include fundamental cell research, cell signaling, drug and gene delivery, and bio-sensing.
authors.affiliation: Biomaterials Innovation Research Center, Division of Biomedical Engineering, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston 02139, MA, USA; Harvard-Massachusetts Institute of Technology Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge 02139, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Kan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yue
authors.affiliation: Biomaterials Innovation Research Center, Division of Biomedical Engineering, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston 02139, MA, USA; Harvard-Massachusetts Institute of Technology Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge 02139, MA, USA; Centro de Biotecnología-FEMSA, Tecnológico de Monterrey at Monterrey, Ave. Eugenio Garza Sada 2501 Sur Col. Tecnológico, CP 64849 Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico.
authors.forename: Grissel
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Trujillo-de Santiago
authors.affiliation: Biomaterials Innovation Research Center, Division of Biomedical Engineering, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston 02139, MA, USA; Harvard-Massachusetts Institute of Technology Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge 02139, MA, USA; Centro de Biotecnología-FEMSA, Tecnológico de Monterrey at Monterrey, Ave. Eugenio Garza Sada 2501 Sur Col. Tecnológico, CP 64849 Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico.
authors.forename: Mario Moisés
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Alvarez
authors.affiliation: Biomaterials Innovation Research Center, Division of Biomedical Engineering, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston 02139, MA, USA; Harvard-Massachusetts Institute of Technology Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge 02139, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tamayol
authors.affiliation: Biomaterials Innovation Research Center, Division of Biomedical Engineering, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston 02139, MA, USA; Harvard-Massachusetts Institute of Technology Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge 02139, MA, USA; Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Boston 02115, MA, USA; Department of Chemical Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115-5000, USA. Electronic address: n.annabi@neu.edu.
authors.forename: Nasim
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Annabi
authors.affiliation: Biomaterials Innovation Research Center, Division of Biomedical Engineering, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston 02139, MA, USA; Harvard-Massachusetts Institute of Technology Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge 02139, MA, USA; Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Boston 02115, MA, USA; Department of Physics, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21569, Saudi Arabia. Electronic address: alik@rics.bwh.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Khademhosseini
mesh_terms: D020816:Amino Acid Motifs; D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry*; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000378:metabolism; D005780:Gelatin / Q000737:chemistry*; D006108:Graphite / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D020100:Hydrogels / Q000737:chemistry*; D008689:Methacrylates / Q000737:chemistry*; D051379:Mice; D044085:Microfluidics; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon / Q000737:chemistry; D010087:Oxides / Q000737:chemistry; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D020100:Hydrogels; D008689:Methacrylates; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon; D010087:Oxides; D011108:Polymers; D006108:Graphite; D005780:Gelatin
keywords: Biomedical; GelMA; Gelatin; Hydrogel; Methacryloyl; Tissue engineering