Preparation of Biomimetic Hydrogels with Controlled Cell Adhesive Properties and Topographical Features for the Study of Muscle Cell Adhesion and Proliferation

Abstract

Synthetic substrates with defined chemical and structural characteristics may potentially be prepared to mimic the living ECM to regulate cell adhesion and growth. Hydrogels with cell-adhesive peptides (0.28±0.03nmol peptide·cm-2, TTA-R-0.5; and 0.91±0.12nmol peptide·cm-2, TTA-R-2.0) and/or micro-scaled topographical patterns (10, 25, and 80μm grooves) are prepared using enzymatic polymerization. The adherent morphology and proliferation of C2C12 skeletal myoblasts and human aortic smooth muscle cells (hAoSM) on the hydrogels are studied. The newly developed hydrogels may be useful in investigating the roles of cell adhesion and substrate surface properties in the communication of adherent cells with the ECM. Presented here is a method to produce biomimetic hydrogels with controlled cell adhesive properties and topographical features. Our findings suggest that hydrogels prepared by this method with specifically engineered cues may be of value in studies of regulatory mechanisms in cell-ECM communication.