Hydrogel-Based Scaffolds with a Focus on Medical Use (2nd Edition)

A special issue of Gels (ISSN 2310-2861). This special issue belongs to the section "Gel Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2024 | Viewed by 1515

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Brescia, 25123 Brescia, Italy
Interests: stem cell transplantation; stem cell biology; regenerative medicine; formation of tissues and organs; mesenchymal and hematopoietic stem cells (MSCs and HSCs)
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Brescia, 25123 Brescia, Italy
Interests: morphology and functional imaging of cells; neuroanatomy and neurophysiology; gene therapy; cell therapy; regenerative medicine
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The development of scaffolds with optimal characteristics is more readily achievable in polymeric scaffolds. There is currently great research interest in hydrogel-based scaffolds. 

Hydrogel-based scaffolds have recently emerged as the most promising substrates for cell cultures to generate well-defined 3D biofabricated tissue, attracting significant research attention for their potential in medical applications.

These scaffolds act as bioactive substrates and structural supports, providing topographical and chemical stimuli for cell spreading, proliferation and differentiation in vivo. Among the specific scaffold characteristics, high porosity and interconnectivity to facilitate scaffold/cell interactions, nutrient and oxygen infiltration and vascularization aim to obtain specific cellular responses. Scaffolds have sufficient mechanical properties to temporarily substitute the missing tissue and permit essential physiological functions.

This Special Issue is dedicated to the design and development of advanced polymeric scaffolds and their applications for bone/cartilage/skin regeneration in vitro and in vivo.

Dr. Federica Re
Dr. Elisa Borsani
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • hydrogel-based scaffolds
  • resorbable scaffolds
  • synthesis of biomaterials
  • mesenchymal stromal cells
  • bioengineered models
  • bone regeneration
  • cartilage regeneration
  • skin regeneration

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

13 pages, 3979 KiB  
Article
Synthesis and Photopatterning of Synthetic Thiol-Norbornene Hydrogels
by Umu S. Jalloh, Arielle Gsell, Kirstene A. Gultian, James MacAulay, Abigail Madden, Jillian Smith, Luke Siri and Sebastián L. Vega
Gels 2024, 10(3), 164; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels10030164 - 23 Feb 2024
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Abstract
Hydrogels are a class of soft biomaterials and the material of choice for a myriad of biomedical applications due to their biocompatibility and highly tunable mechanical and biochemical properties. Specifically, light-mediated thiol-norbornene click reactions between norbornene-modified macromers and di-thiolated crosslinkers can be used [...] Read more.
Hydrogels are a class of soft biomaterials and the material of choice for a myriad of biomedical applications due to their biocompatibility and highly tunable mechanical and biochemical properties. Specifically, light-mediated thiol-norbornene click reactions between norbornene-modified macromers and di-thiolated crosslinkers can be used to form base hydrogels amenable to spatial biochemical modifications via subsequent light reactions between pendant norbornenes in the hydrogel network and thiolated peptides. Macromers derived from natural sources (e.g., hyaluronic acid, gelatin, alginate) can cause off-target cell signaling, and this has motivated the use of synthetic macromers such as poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG). In this study, commercially available 8-arm norbornene-modified PEG (PEG-Nor) macromers were reacted with di-thiolated crosslinkers (dithiothreitol, DTT) to form synthetic hydrogels. By varying the PEG-Nor weight percent or DTT concentration, hydrogels with a stiffness range of 3.3 kPa–31.3 kPa were formed. Pendant norbornene groups in these hydrogels were used for secondary reactions to either increase hydrogel stiffness (by reacting with DTT) or to tether mono-thiolated peptides to the hydrogel network. Peptide functionalization has no effect on bulk hydrogel mechanics, and this confirms that mechanical and biochemical signals can be independently controlled. Using photomasks, thiolated peptides can also be photopatterned onto base hydrogels, and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) attach and spread on RGD-functionalized PEG-Nor hydrogels. MSCs encapsulated in PEG-Nor hydrogels are also highly viable, demonstrating the ability of this platform to form biocompatible hydrogels for 2D and 3D cell culture with user-defined mechanical and biochemical properties. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hydrogel-Based Scaffolds with a Focus on Medical Use (2nd Edition))
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