title: Non-Covalently Stabilized Alginate Hydrogels as Functional Cell Scaffold Material.
abstract: Biopolymers are an attractive class of compounds for being used in biomedical applications as they are widely available from biomass. Their drawback is the lack of mechanical stability and the ability to tune this properly. Covalent chemical cross-linking is an often used approach but it limits usability due to legislation as well as the need of advanced and specialized knowledge by end users such as clinicians. Here, increased and tunable mechanical properties are achieved of alginate-based hydrogels with non-covalent approaches using linear polyethyleneimine (LPEI) as a polyelectrolyte rather than only multivalent metal ions (Ca2+). Gel stiffness increases with increasing LPEI content. Gel morphology changes from a thin fibrous mesh for alginate-Ca2+to thicker fibrous networks when LPEI is introduced. The gels are able to efficiently release encapsulated small molecular dyes and the gels are able to host cells. For the cell encapsulation human skin fibroblasts (HSkF) and human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hBM-MSC) are used. HSkF can be successfully incorporated without diminished viability while the matrix components and gel preparation method are not compatible with hBM-MSC. The newly developed alginate-based system is regarded as a potential candidate for wound dressing materials.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering-FB40, W. J. Kolff Institute for Biomedical Engineering and Materials Science-FB41, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, A. Deusinglaan 1, 9713, AV, Groningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Philipp T
authors.initials: PT
authors.lastname: Kühn
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering-FB40, W. J. Kolff Institute for Biomedical Engineering and Materials Science-FB41, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, A. Deusinglaan 1, 9713, AV, Groningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Thomas L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Meijer
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering-FB40, W. J. Kolff Institute for Biomedical Engineering and Materials Science-FB41, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, A. Deusinglaan 1, 9713, AV, Groningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Irene
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Schiavon
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering-FB40, W. J. Kolff Institute for Biomedical Engineering and Materials Science-FB41, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, A. Deusinglaan 1, 9713, AV, Groningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Mathijs
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: van Poll
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering-FB40, W. J. Kolff Institute for Biomedical Engineering and Materials Science-FB41, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, A. Deusinglaan 1, 9713, AV, Groningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Joris
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: van Aken
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering-FB40, W. J. Kolff Institute for Biomedical Engineering and Materials Science-FB41, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, A. Deusinglaan 1, 9713, AV, Groningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Swen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Groen
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering-FB40, W. J. Kolff Institute for Biomedical Engineering and Materials Science-FB41, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, A. Deusinglaan 1, 9713, AV, Groningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Roel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kuijer
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering-FB40, W. J. Kolff Institute for Biomedical Engineering and Materials Science-FB41, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, A. Deusinglaan 1, 9713, AV, Groningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Theo G
authors.initials: TG
authors.lastname: van Kooten
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering-FB40, W. J. Kolff Institute for Biomedical Engineering and Materials Science-FB41, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, A. Deusinglaan 1, 9713, AV, Groningen, The Netherlands.|Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747, AG, Groningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: van Rijn
mesh_terms: D000464:Alginates / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D047070:Bandages, Hydrocolloid; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D002460:Cell Line; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D020723:Glucuronic Acid / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D006603:Hexuronic Acids / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D006801:Humans; D020100:Hydrogels / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D008422:Materials Testing; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D011094:Polyethyleneimine / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000464:Alginates; D006603:Hexuronic Acids; D020100:Hydrogels; D020723:Glucuronic Acid; D011094:Polyethyleneimine
keywords: cell scaffold; controlled release; encapsulation; hydrogel; polyelectrolyte