Hydrogel-based materials with highly controlled properties are increasingly used as culture platforms to understand and direct stem cell fate. In particular, control of the hydrogel structure and chemistry is important in these applications towards mimicking the dynamic nature of the native extracellular matrix (ECM). The microenvironment that surrounds a cell is complex and dynamic, presenting biochemical signals and biophysical cues that influence cellular functions, such as differentiation and protein secretion, and lead to cellular remodeling of the ECM. Towards recapturing this in vitro, selective degradability can be incorporated within hydrogel culture platforms by the addition of cleavable groups within the gel-forming monomers, including enzymatically and/or photolytically cleavable functionalities. Here, we utilize combinations of light and enzyme responsive functional groups within poly(ethylene glycol)-based hydrogels to probe the role of biophysical or biochemical cues in progenitor cell differentiation, including fibroblasts, epithelial cells, and mesenchymal stem cells.

Functional hydrogels as controlled microenvironments for probing and directing cell differentiation and fate

244th National Meeting (2012)

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