Plasma Modification of 3D Hydrogels for Cell Culture Applications

The aim of this study was to examine plasma effect on to the different structures including 2D glass slides and 3D treated Gelma hydrogels with an increased range of biodegradation rates for more rapid in vivo biodegradation in tissue engineering and bioactive factor delivery applications. Considering the known excellent biocompatibility of GELMA, we envision that this hydrogel material could be potentially used in tissue engineering and for the purpose of directing the growth and migration of cells. Another dimension of this study is plasma patterning of the substrates. This method has been employed to form diverse networks of different cell types for investigations involving migration, signaling, tissue formation, and the behavior and interactions of neurons arraigned in a network. As a result of these, we investigated whether the swelling behavior, degradation profiles, and cell proliferation properties of photocrosslinked hydrogels formed by methacrylated and plasma treated are tunable by varying the degree of plasma conditions. The potential applicability of these photocrosslinked GELMA hydrogels as a carrier of embryonic stem cells (ESCs) was also examined in vitro.

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