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Updated: May 2, 2026
3D Hydrogel Scaffolds for Articular Chondrocyte Culture and Cartilage Generation
Published on: October 7, 2015
3D tissue engineered supramolecular hydrogels for controlled chondrogenesis of human mesenchymal stem cells
Hyuntae Jung1, Ji Sun Park, Junseok Yeom
1School of Interdisciplinary Bioscience and Bioengineering, §Department of Materials Science and Engineering, and ∥Center for Self-Assembly and Complexity, Institute for Basic Science, Department of Chemistry, Division of Advanced Materials Science, Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) , San 31, Hyoja-dong, Nam-gu, Pohang, Kyungbuk 790-784, Korea.
Abstract:
Despite a wide investigation of hydrogels as an artificial extracellular matrix, there are few scaffold systems for the facile spatiotemporal control of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Here, we report 3D tissue engineered supramolecular hydrogels prepared with highly water-soluble monofunctionalized cucurbit[6]uril-hyaluronic acid (CB[6]-HA), diaminohexane conjugated HA (DAH-HA), and drug conjugated CB[6] (drug-CB[6]) for the controlled chondrogenesis of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs). The mechanical property of supramolecular HA hydrogels was modulated by changing the cross-linking density for the spatial control of hMSCs. In addition, the differentiation of hMSCs was temporally controlled by changing the release profiles of transforming growth factor-β3 (TGF-β3) and/or dexamethasone (Dexa) from the hydrolyzable Dexa-CB[6]. The effective chondrogenic differentiation of hMSCs encapsulated in the monoCB[6]/DAH-HA hydrogel with TGF-β3 and Dexa-CB[6] was confirmed by biochemical glycosaminoglycan content analysis, real-time quantitative PCR, histological, and immunohistochemical analyses. Taken together, we could confirm the feasibility of cytocompatible monoCB[6]/DAH-HA hydrogels as a platform scaffold with controlled drug delivery for cartilage regeneration and other various tissue engineering applications.
