title: Impact of RGD amount in dextran-based hydrogels for cell delivery.
abstract: Dextran is one of the hydrophilic polymers that is used for hydrogel preparation. As any polysaccharide, it presents a high density of hydroxyl groups, which make possible several types of derivatization and crosslinking reactions. Furthermore, dextran is an excellent candidate for hydrogel fabrication with controlled cell/scaffold interactions as it is resistant to protein adsorption and cell adhesion. RGD peptide can be grafted to the dextran in order to promote selected cell adhesion and proliferation. Altogether, we have developed a novel strategy to graft the RGD peptide sequence to dextran-based hydrogel using divinyl sulfone as a linker. The resulting RGD functionalized dextran-based hydrogels were transparent, presented a smooth surface and were easy to handle. The impact of varying RGD peptide amounts, hydrogel porosity and topology upon human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) adhesion, proliferation and infiltration was investigated. Our results demonstrated that 0.1% of RGD-modified dextran within the gel was sufficient to support HUVEC cells adhesion to the hydrogel surface. Sodium chloride was added (i) to the original hydrogel mix in order to form a macroporous structure presenting interconnected pores and (ii) to the hydrogel surface to create small orifices essential for cells migration inside the matrix.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Groupe de Recherche en Sciences et Technologie Biomédicales (GRSTB), Bio-P(2) Research Unit, École Polytechnique de Montréal, P.O. Box 6079, Succ. Centre-Ville, Montreal, QC H3C 3A7, Canada.
authors.forename: Nesrine
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Riahi
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Groupe de Recherche en Sciences et Technologie Biomédicales (GRSTB), Bio-P(2) Research Unit, École Polytechnique de Montréal, P.O. Box 6079, Succ. Centre-Ville, Montreal, QC H3C 3A7, Canada.
authors.forename: Benoît
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Liberelle
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Groupe de Recherche en Sciences et Technologie Biomédicales (GRSTB), Bio-P(2) Research Unit, École Polytechnique de Montréal, P.O. Box 6079, Succ. Centre-Ville, Montreal, QC H3C 3A7, Canada.
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Henry
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Groupe de Recherche en Sciences et Technologie Biomédicales (GRSTB), Bio-P(2) Research Unit, École Polytechnique de Montréal, P.O. Box 6079, Succ. Centre-Ville, Montreal, QC H3C 3A7, Canada. Electronic address: gregory.decrescenzo@polymtl.ca.
authors.forename: Gregory
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: De Crescenzo
mesh_terms: D002448:Cell Adhesion / Q000187:drug effects; D003911:Dextrans / Q000737:chemistry*; D061307:Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D020100:Hydrogels / Q000737:chemistry*; D009842:Oligopeptides / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D003911:Dextrans; D020100:Hydrogels; D009842:Oligopeptides; C047981:arginyl-glycyl-aspartic acid
keywords: Cell delivery; Cell homing; Dextran; Hydrogel; RGD peptide; Vinyl sulfone