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PEG–Anthracene Hydrogels as an On‐Demand Stiffening Matrix To Study Mechanobiology
Author(s) -
Günay Kemal Arda,
Ceccato Tova L.,
Silver Jason S.,
Bannister Kendra L.,
Bednarski Olivia J.,
Leinwand Leslie A.,
Anseth Kristi S.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
angewandte chemie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1521-3757
pISSN - 0044-8249
DOI - 10.1002/ange.201901989
Subject(s) - self healing hydrogels , mechanobiology , nfat , chemistry , stiffening , mechanotransduction , biophysics , materials science , microbiology and biotechnology , polymer chemistry , biochemistry , composite material , biology , gene , transcription factor
There is a growing interest in materials that can dynamically change their properties in the presence of cells to study mechanobiology. Herein, we exploit the 365 nm light mediated [4+4] photodimerization of anthracene groups to develop cytocompatible PEG‐based hydrogels with tailorable initial moduli that can be further stiffened. A hydrogel formulation that can stiffen from 10 to 50 kPa, corresponding to the stiffness of a healthy and fibrotic heart, respectively, was prepared. This system was used to monitor the stiffness‐dependent localization of NFAT, a downstream target of intracellular calcium signaling using a reporter in live cardiac fibroblasts (CFbs). NFAT translocates to the nucleus of CFbs on stiffening hydrogels within 6 h, whereas it remains cytoplasmic when the CFbs are cultured on either 10 or 50 kPa static hydrogels. This finding demonstrates how dynamic changes in the mechanical properties of a material can reveal the kinetics of mechanoresponsive cell signaling pathways that may otherwise be missed in cells cultured on static substrates.