Development of a 3-D artificial extracellular matrix. Design concept and artificial vascular media

A photodimerizable monomer was synthesized and subsequently co-polymerized with a hydrophilic monomer to obtain a photocrosslinkable, water soluble polymer. This polymer attained a highly hydrated, gel-like phase on irradiation with ultraviolet (UV) light. Furthermore, incorporation of the well known cell adhesive ligand Arg-Gly-Asp-Ser (RGDS) peptidyl moiety into the above co-polymer resulted, on UV light irradiation, in a three-dimensional hydrophilic gel matrix containing cell adhesive ligands. The UV irradiation on a mixture of photocrosslinkable and cell adhesive polymer and smooth muscle cells in a medium trapped the cells throughout the gel matrix, indicating that the cell-entrapped gel and the designed synthetic polymer biomimic the media of the vascular wall and extracellular matrix, respectively.