Hydrogels for tissue engineering: scaffold design variables and applications.

New generations of synthetic biomaterials are being developed at a rapid pace for use as three-dimensional extracellular microenvironments to mimic the regulatory characteristics of natural extracellular matrices (ECMs) and ECM-bound growth factors, both for therapeutic applications and basic biological studies. Recent advances include nanofibrillar networks formed by self-assembly of small building blocks, artificial ECM networks from protein polymers or peptide-conjugated synthetic polymers that present bioactive ligands and respond to cell-secreted signals to enable proteolytic remodeling. These materials have already found application in differentiating stem cells into neurons, repairing bone and inducing angiogenesis. Although modern synthetic biomaterials represent oversimplified mimics of natural ECMs lacking the essential natural temporal and spatial complexity, a growing symbiosis of materials engineering and cell biology may ultimately result in synthetic materials that contain the necessary signals to recapitulate developmental processes in tissue- and organ-specific differentiation and morphogenesis.

https://sisu.ut.ee/sites/default/files/quantum/files/synthetic_biomaterials_as_instructive_extracellular_microenvironments_for_morphogenesis_in_tissue_engineering_lutolf_m.p_hubbell_j.a_2005_0.pdf

Synthetic biomaterials as instructive extracellular microenvironments for morphogenesis in tissue engineering

Hydrophilic polymers are the center of research emphasis in nanotechnology because of their perceived “intelligence”. They can be used as thin films, scaffolds, or nanoparticles in a wide range of biomedical and biological applications. Here we highlight recent developments in engineering uncrosslinked and crosslinked hydrophilic polymers for these applications. Natural, biohybrid, and synthetic hydrophilic polymers and hydrogels are analyzed and their thermodynamic responses are discussed. In addition, examples of the use of hydrogels for various therapeutic applications are given. We show how such systems’ intelligent behavior can be used in sensors, microarrays, and imaging. Finally, we outline challenges for the future in integrating hydrogels into biomedical applications.

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Hydrogels in Biology and Medicine: From Molecular Principles to Bionanotechnology†

RGD modified polymers: biomaterials for stimulated cell adhesion and beyond

Hydrogels, due to their unique biocompatibility, flexible methods of synthesis, range of constituents, and desirable physical characteristics, have been the material of choice for many applications in regenerative medicine. They can serve as scaffolds that provide structural integrity to tissue constructs, control drug and protein delivery to tissues and cultures, and serve as adhesives or barriers between tissue and material surfaces. In this work, the properties of hydrogels that are important for tissue engineering applications and the inherent material design constraints and challenges are discussed. Recent research involving several different hydrogels polymerized from a variety of synthetic and natural monomers using typical and novel synthetic methods are highlighted. Finally, special attention is given to the microfabrication techniques that are currently resulting in important advances in the field.

/pdf/hydrogels-in-regenerative-medicine-lx1cllc4g8.pdf

Hydrogels in regenerative medicine

Smooth muscle cell growth in photopolymerized hydrogels with cell adhesive and proteolytically degradable domains: synthetic ECM analogs for tissue engineering.

Modification of surfaces with cell adhesion peptides alters extracellular matrix deposition.

Mann, B.K., Gobin, A.S., Tsai, A.T., Schmedlen, R.H. & West, J.L. Smooth muscle cell growth in photopolymerized hydrogels with cell adhesive and proteolytically degradable domains: synthetic ECM analogs for tissue engineering. Biomaterials 22, 3045-3051

Annabel T. Tsai

Papers

Smooth muscle cell growth in photopolymerized hydrogels with cell adhesive and proteolytically degradable domains: synthetic ECM analogs for tissue engineering.

Modification of surfaces with cell adhesion peptides alters extracellular matrix deposition.

Mann, B.K., Gobin, A.S., Tsai, A.T., Schmedlen, R.H. & West, J.L. Smooth muscle cell growth in photopolymerized hydrogels with cell adhesive and proteolytically degradable domains: synthetic ECM analogs for tissue engineering. Biomaterials 22, 3045-3051