(595e) Guest-Host Supramolecular Assembly of Injectable Hydrogel Nanofibers for 3D Cell Encapsulation and Pelvic Organ Prolapse Repair
AIChE Annual Meeting
2021
2021 Annual Meeting
Materials Engineering and Sciences Division
Biomaterial Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering I
Thursday, November 11, 2021 - 2:00pm to 2:18pm
In the development of the material, HA was modified with methacrylates to permit fiber photocrosslinking following electrospinning and either âguestâ adamantane or âhostâ β-cyclodextrin groups to guide supramolecular fibrous hydrogel assembly. Analysis of the hydrogel fiber rheological properties showed that the mixed guest-host fibrous hydrogel was more mechanically robust (6.6 ± 2.0 kPa, storage modulus (Gʹ)) than unmixed guest hydrogel fibers (1.0 ± 0.1 kPa) or host hydrogel fibers (1.1 ± 0.1 kPa) separately (Figure A). The reversible nature of the guest-host supramolecular interactions also allowed for shear-thinning and self-healing behavior as demonstrated by cyclic deformation testing and subsequent injection for cell studies. Human mesenchymal stromal cells (hMSCs) encapsulated in fibrous hydrogels demonstrated satisfactory viability following injection and after seven days of culture (> 85%). Encapsulated hMSCs were more spread and elongated when cultured in viscoelastic guest-host hydrogels compared to non-fibrous elastic controls, with hMSCs also showing significantly decreased circularity in fibrous guest-host hydrogels compared to non-fibrous guest-host hydrogels (Figure B). Together, these data highlight the potential of this injectable 3D fibrous hydrogel platform for cell and tissue engineering applications requiring minimally invasive delivery. Ongoing work is assessing the biocompatibility and therapeutic efficacy of the biomaterial scaffold in a rat model (Figure C) of USLS.