Characterization of thiol-ene crosslinked PEG hydrogels

Abstract

The properties of synthetic hydrogels can be tuned to address the needs of many tissue-culture applications. This work characterizes the swelling and mechanical properties of thiol-ene crosslinked PEG hydrogels made with varying prepolymer formulations, demonstrating that hydrogels with a compressive modulus exceeding 600 kPa can be formed. The amount of peptide incorporated into the hydrogel is shown to be proportional to the amount of peptide in the prepolymer solution. Cell attachment and spreading on the surface of the peptide-functionalized hydrogels is demonstrated. Additionally, a method for bonding distinct layers of cured hydrogels is used to create a microfluidic channel. The chemical and mechanical characteristics of the extracellular matrix play a key role in determining cellular behavior, and synthetic materials are being developed to mimic these qualities. Thiol-ene crosslinked PEG hydrogels are shown to achieve a broad range of mechanical properties, and a method for bonding hydrogel layers is used to create a microfluidic device (inset). Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.