Cell-laden Microengineered and Mechanically Tunable Hybrid Hydrogels of Gelatin and Graphene Oxide

Incorporating graphene oxide inside GelMA hydrogels enhances their mechanical properties and reduces UV-induced cell damage while preserving their favorable characteristics for 3D cell encapsulation. NIH-3T3 fibroblasts encapsulated in GO-GelMA microgels demonstrate excellent cellular viability, proliferation, spreading, and alignment. GO reinforcement combined with a multi-stacking approach offers a facile engineering strategy for the construction of complex artificial tissues.United States. Army Research Office. Institute for Soldier NanotechnologiesNational Institutes of Health (U.S.) (HL092836)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (EB02597)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (AR057837)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (HL099073)United States. Office of Naval Research (Young Investigator award)United States. Office of Naval Research (ONR PECASE Award)National Research Foundation of Korea (Korean Government grant (NRF-2010–220-D00014))Controlled Release Society (Sung Wan Kim Postdoctoral Fellowship)Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (Discovery Grant