title: In Situ "Clickable" Zwitterionic Starch-Based Hydrogel for 3D Cell Encapsulation.
abstract: Three-dimensional (3D) cell encapsulation in hydrogel provides superb methods to investigate the biochemical cues in directing cellular fate and behaviors outside the organism, the primary step of which is to establish suitable "blank platform" to mimic and simplify native ECM microenvironment. In this study, zwitterionic starch-based "clickable" hydrogels were fabricated via a "copper- and light- free" Michael-type "thiol-ene" addition reaction between acylated-modified sulfobetaine-derived starch (SB-ST-A) and dithiol-functionalized poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG-SH). By incorporating antifouling SB-ST and PEG, the hydrogel system would be excellently protected from nontarget protein adsorption to act as a "blank platform". The hydrogels could rapidly gel under physiological conditions in less than 7 min. Dynamic rheology experiments suggested the stiffness of the hydrogel was close to the native tissues, and the mechanical properties as well as the gelation times and swelling behaviors could be easily tuned by varying the precursor proportions. The protein and cell adhesion assays demonstrated that the hydrogel surface could effectively resist nonspecific protein and cell adhesion. The degradation study in vitro confirmed that the hydrogel was biodegradable. A549 cells encapsulated in the hydrogel maintained high viability (up to 93%) and started to proliferate in number and extend in morphology after 2 days' culture. These results indicated the hydrogel presented here could be a potential candidate as "blank platform" for 3D cell encapsulation and biochemical cues induced cellular behavior investigation in vitro.
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University , Tianjin 300072, China.
authors.forename: Dianyu
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.affiliation: Department of Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences and Tissue Engineering Research Center, Academy of Military Medical Sciences , Beijing 100850, China.
authors.forename: Junjie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Medical Sciences, North China University of Science and Technology , Tangshan 063000, China.
authors.forename: Man
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University , Tianjin 300072, China.
authors.forename: Jinmei
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University , Tianjin 300072, China.
authors.forename: Yuhang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University , Tianjin 300072, China.
authors.forename: Liu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University , Tianjin 300072, China.
authors.forename: Yufei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University , Tianjin 300072, China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ye
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Medical Sciences, North China University of Science and Technology , Tangshan 063000, China.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University , Tianjin 300072, China.|Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering, Ministry of Education, Tianjin University , Tianjin 300072, China.
authors.forename: Fanglian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Yao
mesh_terms: D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002448:Cell Adhesion / Q000187:drug effects; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D058948:Cell Tracking / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D020100:Hydrogels / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D013213:Starch / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D020100:Hydrogels; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; D013213:Starch
keywords: 3D cell encapsulation; ECM; blank platform; hydrogel; “thiol−ene” click chemistry