Photolabile networks for tissue
engineering applications
Hydrogels are increasingly used as cell culture
platforms and drug delivery devices.
In these dynamic biological applications,
spatiotemporal control of the gel structure and
chemistry is often desirable to examine how
changes in material properties influence cell
function or drug release rate. Towards this
level of property control, degradability can be
introduced by incorporation of stimuli
responsive groups within the polymers that
comprise the hydrogel, including hydrolytically,
enzymatically, or photolytically cleavable
functionalities.
In our work, we incorporate a
photolytically-degradable or enzymatically
degradable moieties within macromolecular
monomers and utilize free radical chain
polymerization or base-catalyzed Michael-type
addition to form hydrogels whose structure can
be subsequently tuned with light or enzymes. We
exploit these materials for probing and
directing cell-cell and cell-material
interactions for tissue regeneration, including
alveolar, muscle, and heart valve tissues.
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