Biocompatible and Enzymatically Degradable Gels for 3D Cellular Encapsulation under Extreme Compressive Strain
Zain Clapacs,
Sydney Neal,
David Schuftan,
Xiaohong Tan,
Huanzhu Jiang,
Jingxuan Guo,
Jai Rudra,
Nathaniel Huebsch
Affiliations
Zain Clapacs
Department of Biomedical Engineering, McKelvey School of Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
Sydney Neal
Department of Biomedical Engineering, McKelvey School of Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
David Schuftan
Department of Biomedical Engineering, McKelvey School of Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
Xiaohong Tan
Department of Biomedical Engineering, McKelvey School of Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
Huanzhu Jiang
Department of Biomedical Engineering, McKelvey School of Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
Jingxuan Guo
Department of Mechanical Engineering and Material Science, McKelvey School of Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
Jai Rudra
Department of Biomedical Engineering, McKelvey School of Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
Nathaniel Huebsch
Department of Biomedical Engineering, McKelvey School of Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
Cell encapsulating scaffolds are necessary for the study of cellular mechanosensing of cultured cells. However, conventional scaffolds used for loading cells in bulk generally fail at low compressive strain, while hydrogels designed for high toughness and strain resistance are generally unsuitable for cell encapsulation. Here we describe an alginate/gelatin methacryloyl interpenetrating network with multiple crosslinking modes that is robust to compressive strains greater than 70%, highly biocompatible, enzymatically degradable and able to effectively transfer strain to encapsulated cells. In future studies, this gel formula may allow researchers to probe cellular mechanosensing in bulk at levels of compressive strain previously difficult to investigate.
