Development of Polyethylene Glycol-based Hydrogels Optimized for In Vitro 3D Culture of HepG2 Hepatocarcinoma Cells
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Updated: Jul 15, 2025
Fabrication of Inverted Colloidal Crystal Polyethylene glycol Scaffold: A Three-dimensional Cell Culture Platform for Liver Tissue Engineering
Published on: August 27, 2016
Young Jae Lee1, Keun Cheon Kim2, Jeong Min Lee3
1Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Background/Aim:
We report an in vitro three-dimensional (3D) culture system optimized for the growth of HepG2 hepatocarcinoma cells.
Materials And Methods:
The 3D culture system was fabricated based on polyethylene glycol (PEG)-based hydrogels; their mechanical strength was controlled by differences in the arm number and concentration of PEG-vinylsulfone. Moreover, cellular growth was evaluated after culturing HepG2 cells in PEG-based hydrogels with various mechanical strengths.
Results:
HepG2 cell culture in the 3D PEG-based hydrogels induced the formation of spherical colonies. Moreover, the highest number of spherical colonies formed from HepG2 cells at the single-cell level, and the formation of spherical colonies with a uniform size was observed in HepG2 cells cultured in 5% (w/v) 8-arm PEG-based hydrogels.
Conclusion:
5% (w/v) 8-arm PEG-based hydrogels may be developed as a 3D culture system optimized for stimulating the in vitro growth of HepG2 cells.
