Combinatorial Screening of Hydrogel Properties for 3-D Cell Culture: Effect of Stiffness on Encapsulated Osteoblasts

Published

July 15, 2009

Author(s)

Carl G. Simon Jr., Kaushik Chatterjee, Sheng Lin-Gibson, William E. Wallace, Marian F. Young

Abstract

A combinatorial method to rapidly screen cell-material interactions in three-dimensional (3-D) culture format was developed for accelerating tissue engineering research. Hydrogels of poly(ethylene glycol) dimethacrylate (PEGDM) with gradients in compressive modulus were fabricated using this platform. The effect of modulus on encapsulated murine preosteoblast MC3T3-E1 cells was investigated as a model for orthopedic tissue engineering. Cell survival was found to be higher in the softer ends of the gradients, but increase in gel stiffness induced spontaneous cell differentiation. Prolonged cell culture led to the formation of gradients of mineral deposits. These graded tissues can also be applied for seamless interfacing of tissue-engineered mineralized bones with softer tissues. These results demonstrate the feasibility of the gradient platform and offer a more relevant 3D method for rapid screening of cell-biomaterial interactions.

Proceedings Title

238th ACS National Meeting & Exposition, Fall 2009

Conference Dates

August 16-20, 2009

Conference Location

Washington, DC

Pub Type

Conferences

Download Paper

Local Download

Keywords

combinatorial methods, gradient, scaffold, polymer, tissue engineering, biomaterial, cell differentiation, osteoblast, bone, hydrogel, modulus

Citation

Simon, C. , Chatterjee, K. , Lin-Gibson, S. , Wallace, W. and Young, M. (2009), Combinatorial Screening of Hydrogel Properties for 3-D Cell Culture: Effect of Stiffness on Encapsulated Osteoblasts, 238th ACS National Meeting & Exposition, Fall 2009 , Washington, DC, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=901798 (Accessed October 11, 2025)