Elastic serum-albumin based hydrogels: mechanism of formation and application in cardiac tissue engineering
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Hydrogels are promising materials for mimicking the extra-cellular environment. Here, we present a simple methodology for the form
ation of a free-standing viscoelastic hydrogel from the abundant and low cost protein serum albumin. We show that the mechanical properties of the hydrogel exhibit a complicated behaviour as a function of the weight fraction of the protein component. We further use X-ray scattering to shed light on the mechanism of gelation from the formation of a fibrillary network at low weight fractions to interconnected aggregates at higher fractions. Given the match
between our hydrogel elasticity and that of the myocardium, we investigated its potential for supporting cardiac cells in vitro. Interestingly, the sehydrogels support the formation of several layers of myocytes and significantly promote the maintenance of a native-like
gene expression profile compared to those cultured on
glass. When confronted with a multicellular ventricular cell preparation,
the hydrogels can support macroscopically contracting cardiac-like tissues with a distinct cell arrangement, and form mm-long vascular-
like structures. We envisage that our simple approach for the formation of an elastic substrate from an abundant protein makes the
hydrogel a compelling biomedical material candidate for a wide range of cell types.
ation of a free-standing viscoelastic hydrogel from the abundant and low cost protein serum albumin. We show that the mechanical properties of the hydrogel exhibit a complicated behaviour as a function of the weight fraction of the protein component. We further use X-ray scattering to shed light on the mechanism of gelation from the formation of a fibrillary network at low weight fractions to interconnected aggregates at higher fractions. Given the match
between our hydrogel elasticity and that of the myocardium, we investigated its potential for supporting cardiac cells in vitro. Interestingly, the sehydrogels support the formation of several layers of myocytes and significantly promote the maintenance of a native-like
gene expression profile compared to those cultured on
glass. When confronted with a multicellular ventricular cell preparation,
the hydrogels can support macroscopically contracting cardiac-like tissues with a distinct cell arrangement, and form mm-long vascular-
like structures. We envisage that our simple approach for the formation of an elastic substrate from an abundant protein makes the
hydrogel a compelling biomedical material candidate for a wide range of cell types.
Date Issued
2018-09-21
Date Acceptance
2018-07-02
Citation
Journal of Materials Chemistry B, 2018, 6, pp.5604-5612
ISSN
2050-750X
Publisher
Royal Society of Chemistry
Start Page
5604
End Page
5612
Journal / Book Title
Journal of Materials Chemistry B
Volume
6
Copyright Statement
© The Royal Society of Chemistry 2018. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/)
Sponsor
Commission of the European Communities
Commission of the European Communities
Wellcome Trust
Commission of the European Communities
British Heart Foundation
Grant Number
PIEF-GA-2013-623123
PIEF-GA-2013-625472
098411/Z/12/Z
ERC-2013-CoG-616417
RM/13/1/30157
Subjects
Science & Technology
Technology
Materials Science, Biomaterials
Materials Science
HUMAN MYOCARDIUM
IN-SITU
MATURATION
MATRIX
SCATTERING
SCAFFOLDS
TENSION
SYSTEM
CUES
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2018-08-23