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Updated: Oct 6, 2025
Easy Manipulation of Architectures in Protein-based Hydrogels for Cell Culture Applications
Published on: August 4, 2017
Self-Healable Porous Polyampholyte Hydrogels with Higher Water Content as Cell Culture Scaffolds for Tissue
Jui-Hsiang Liu1, Yi-Hua Hung1, Kai-Ti Chang1
1Department of Chemical Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, No. 1, University Road, Tainan City 70101, Taiwan, ROC.
Abstract:
In this paper, we first demonstrate the control of the film pore size using neutral hydrophilic 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) content. To improve the mechanical properties of a polyampholyte (PA), both HEMA and the cross-linker N,N'-methylenebisacrylamide (Bis-Am) were introduced into the PA chain. The predesigned copolymers showed great mechanical properties and optical behavior. The introduction of HEMA significantly increased the water content of the polymer, leading to the formation of porous structures in xerogels. The dynamic interaction between the positive and negative termini of the PA endowed the hydrogels with self-healing ability. The synthesized chemically cross-linked PA gels showed high stability in saline solution. The biocompatibility of the PA gels was confirmed using a cytotoxicity test of cells attached to the synthesized PA-X-2 and PA/HEMA-90/10-X-0.5. The results of this investigation indicate that the synthesized PA gels are applicable as a polymeric scaffold for cell culture.
