Injectable Cucurbit[8]uril-Based Supramolecular Gelatin Hydrogels for Cell Encapsulation.

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Polymer Chemistry
• Tissue Engineering

Background:

• Hydrogel biomaterials aim to mimic the native extracellular matrix's dynamic properties.
• Dynamic linkages in hydrogels influence strength, stress relaxation, and clearance.
• Current dynamic hydrogel strategies use limited chemical reactions and host-guest interactions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To expand the toolkit for creating dynamic hydrogels.
• To develop supramolecular gelatin hydrogels with novel dynamic cross-links.
• To assess the utility of these hydrogels for cell encapsulation and delivery applications.

Main Methods:

• Preparation of supramolecular gelatin hydrogels utilizing cucurbit[8]uril (CB[8])-based cross-links.
• Formation of cross-links via thiol-ene reactions between preassembled CB[8]·FGGC peptide ternary complexes and grafted norbornenes.
• Encapsulation of human fibroblast cells within the hydrogels.

Main Results:

• Optically transparent, shear-thinning, and injectable hydrogels were successfully prepared.
• Encapsulated human fibroblast cells maintained high viability.
• Cells exhibited a well-spread morphology within the hydrogel matrix.
• The CB[8]-based cross-linking system offers on-demand dynamic linkage formation.

Conclusions:

• The developed CB[8]-based gelatin hydrogels represent a novel class of dynamic biomaterials.
• These hydrogels offer improved dynamic properties relevant to native tissue.
• The hydrogels show significant potential for applications in bioprinting, cell delivery, and drug delivery systems.