Cell Response to Hydrogel Tissue Scaffolds

Tissue Engineering is evolving as one of the most promising therapies in regenerative medicine. Biomaterials are attractive substrates for tissue-engineering applications because they are biocompatible, can be biodegradable, and can be fabricated from a variety of materials. The ideal biomaterial substrate mimics native extracellular matrices to regulate cellular function, provide physical structure, and allow the diffusion of vital solutes. Cell morphology, proliferation, and differentiation are linked to substrate geometry and physical properties. We show that the dimensionality (2D vs 3D) of a substrate more strongly influences neuronal morphology than substrate stiffness. We also correlated GRGDY-modified alginate gel composition with gel stiffness and cell behavior: increased GRGDY and alginate concentrations resulted in increased gel stiffness and density of adherent cells. While increased calcium also increased gel stiffness, cell density was optimal at an intermediate calcium concentration. This work adds towards our understanding of optimizing scaffold properties to direct cell response