A Delayed Cross‐Linking Strategy for Evolvable Hydrogels

Strategy for preparation of hybrid polymer hydrogels using silica nanoparticles as multifunctional crosslinking points.

Novel hybrid polymer hydrogels were prepared in a facile manner by simple mixing of a water-soluble copolymer having trimethoxysilyl side chains with silica nanoparticles used as multiple crosslinkers.

Promoting Extracellular Matrix Crosslinking in Synthetic Hydrogels

Photopolymerization of cell-encapsulating hydrogels: crosslinking efficiency versus cytotoxicity.

Cell-encapsulating hydrogels used in regenerative medicine are designed to undergo a rapid liquid-to-solid phase transition in the presence of cells and tissues so as to maximize crosslinking and minimize cell toxicity. Light-activated free-radical crosslinking (photopolymerization) is of particular interest in this regard because it can provide rapid reaction rates that result in uniform hydro...

A comparative study of enzyme initiators for crosslinking phenol-functionalized hydrogels for cell encapsulation

BACKGROUND Dityrosine crosslinking in proteins is a bioinspired method of forming hydrogels. This study compares oxidative enzyme initiators for their relative crosslinking efficiency and cytocompatibility using the same phenol group and the same material platform. Four common enzyme and enzyme-like oxidative initiators were probed for resulting material properties and cell viability post-encap...

Swelling-Induced Surface Patterns in Hydrogels with Gradient Crosslinking Density

Hydrogels with controlled surface patterns are useful for a range of applications, including in microdevices, sensors, coatings, and adhesives. In this work, a simple and robust method to generate a wide range of osmotically driven surface patterns, including random, lamellar, peanut, and hexagonal structures is developed. This method does not require the use of organic solvents for swelling, p...