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Characterization of thin gelatin hydrogel membranes with balloon properties for dynamic tissue engineering
Author(s) -
Jepsen Morten Leth,
Nielsen Line Hagner,
Boisen Anja,
Almdal Kristoffer,
Dufva Martin
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
biopolymers
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.556
H-Index - 125
eISSN - 1097-0282
pISSN - 0006-3525
DOI - 10.1002/bip.23241
Subject(s) - gelatin , self healing hydrogels , tissue engineering , membrane , polymer , chemistry , biomedical engineering , stiffness , chemical engineering , materials science , composite material , polymer chemistry , medicine , biochemistry , engineering
Cell or tissue stretching and strain are present in any in vivo environment, but is difficult to reproduce in vitro. Here, we describe a simple method for casting a thin (about 500 μm) and soft (about 0.3 kPa) hydrogel of gelatin and a method for characterizing the mechanical properties of the hydrogel simply by changing pressure with a water column. The gelatin is crosslinked with mTransglutaminase and the area of the resulting hydrogel can be increased up 13‐fold by increasing the radial water pressure. This is far beyond physiological stretches observed in vivo. Actuating the hydrogel with a radial force achieves both information about stiffness, stretchability, and contractability, which are relevant properties for tissue engineering purposes. Cells could be stretched and contracted using the gelatin membrane. Gelatin is a commonly used polymer for hydrogels in tissue engineering, and the discovered reversible stretching is particularly interesting for organ modeling applications.