Biomimetic Hydrogels to Recapitulate the 3D Cellular Microenvironment

A special issue of Gels (ISSN 2310-2861).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2021) | Viewed by 6345

Special Issue Editor

Baxter Laboratory for Stem Cell Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
Interests: hydrogel cell culture platforms; protein-engineered biomaterials; polymer chemistry; disease modeling; neural tissue engineering; muscle stem cell biolog
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The native cellular microenvironment is inherently complex, with biochemical cues contributed by protein and polysaccharide extracellular matrix (ECM) components and soluble signaling factors, heterogeneous mechanical properties, and microstructural features spanning several orders of magnitude in size. The versatility of hydrogel materials in recapitulating these microenvironmental features makes them attractive platforms for culturing cells in physiologically relevant 3D contexts ex vivo. Biomimetic engineered hydrogel platforms are being investigated as culture systems to expand, differentiate, and transplant stem cells for therapeutic applications, as in vitro models to study the underlying biology of development and disease, and as drug screening and diagnostic tools.

This Special Issue focuses on the development of hydrogel platforms that mimic aspects of the native cellular microenvironment. Emphasis is placed on novel methods for controlling hydrogel biochemical and biophysical properties, such as development of new chemistries to crosslink and functionalize cell-laden hydrogels, protein-engineered materials, self-assembling materials, and additive manufacturing approaches to impart spatial organization in engineered constructs. 

Dr. Christopher M. Madl
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Gels is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • hydrogels
  • biomaterials
  • engineered cell culture platforms
  • protein-engineered materials
  • self-assembling materials
  • additive manufacturing
  • crosslinking chemistries
  • in vitro modeling

Published Papers (2 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

16 pages, 4118 KiB  
Article
Biocompatible and Enzymatically Degradable Gels for 3D Cellular Encapsulation under Extreme Compressive Strain
by Zain Clapacs, Sydney Neal, David Schuftan, Xiaohong Tan, Huanzhu Jiang, Jingxuan Guo, Jai Rudra and Nathaniel Huebsch
Gels 2021, 7(3), 101; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels7030101 - 24 Jul 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2424
Abstract
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 [...] Read more.
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. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomimetic Hydrogels to Recapitulate the 3D Cellular Microenvironment)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

23 pages, 3722 KiB  
Review
Supramolecular Host–Guest Hydrogels for Corneal Regeneration
by Amy C. Madl and David Myung
Gels 2021, 7(4), 163; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels7040163 - 05 Oct 2021
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3283
Abstract
Over 6.2 million people worldwide suffer from moderate to severe vision loss due to corneal disease. While transplantation with allogenic donor tissue is sight-restoring for many patients with corneal blindness, this treatment modality is limited by long waiting lists and high rejection rates, [...] Read more.
Over 6.2 million people worldwide suffer from moderate to severe vision loss due to corneal disease. While transplantation with allogenic donor tissue is sight-restoring for many patients with corneal blindness, this treatment modality is limited by long waiting lists and high rejection rates, particularly in patients with severe tissue damage and ocular surface pathologies. Hydrogel biomaterials represent a promising alternative to donor tissue for scalable, nonimmunogenic corneal reconstruction. However, implanted hydrogel materials require invasive surgeries and do not precisely conform to tissue defects, increasing the risk of patient discomfort, infection, and visual distortions. Moreover, most hydrogel crosslinking chemistries for the in situ formation of hydrogels exhibit off-target effects such as cross-reactivity with biological structures and/or result in extractable solutes that can have an impact on wound-healing and inflammation. To address the need for cytocompatible, minimally invasive, injectable tissue substitutes, host–guest interactions have emerged as an important crosslinking strategy. This review provides an overview of host–guest hydrogels as injectable therapeutics and highlights the potential application of host–guest interactions in the design of corneal stromal tissue substitutes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomimetic Hydrogels to Recapitulate the 3D Cellular Microenvironment)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop