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In Vitro Growth and Viability of Cells Encapsulated within Hyaluronic Acid‐based Hydrogels
Author(s) -
Pomraning Kyle R.,
Shu Xiao Zheng,
Firpo Matthew A.,
Dai Qiang,
Prestwich Glenn D.,
Peattie Robert A.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.21.5.a479
Subject(s) - self healing hydrogels , hyaluronic acid , gelatin , in vivo , chemistry , in vitro , viability assay , cell growth , biophysics , tissue engineering , cell , growth factor , biomedical engineering , microbiology and biotechnology , biochemistry , anatomy , biology , polymer chemistry , medicine , receptor
Growth factor‐containing hydrogels based on chemically modified hyaluronic acid (HA), gelatin (Gtn), and heparin (Hp) have been shown to promote neovascularization, and can provide a scaffold for therapeutically implanted cells. However, cell survival in vivo is limited by a lack of initial vasculature around the implant that leads to cell starvation. Accordingly, these experiments investigated the growth of the human cell line HEK293 when seeded into HA‐based hydrogels in vitro . Cells modified to produce red fluorescent protein were mixed with HA, Gtn, Hp, and growth factors and crosslinked with PEG‐diacrylate to produce 1% (w/v) gels. It was found that none of the HA hydrogel components or growth factors are toxic to the cells at applicable concentrations. The cells grew optimally in a mixed HA:Gtn (50:50 w/w) hydrogel and reached 1.8×10 7 cells/mL in three weeks when seeded at 2×10 6 cells/mL. Neither the initial seed concentration (2×10 5 –2×10 6 cells/mL) nor the HA:Gtn ratio (90:10, 80:10, 50:50) had a significant effect on the maximum cell density, though both factors affected the time needed to reach that density. These results suggest that HA‐based, cell‐containing gels can be designed to support implanted cell growth starting from low seeding density, while eliciting the development of a vascular network. Supported by NIH award 1R21EB004514, and a Centers of Excellence award from the state of Utah.