Injectability of temperature-responsive hydrogel derived from elastin-like polypeptide for cell delivery

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Tissue Engineering
• Polymer Chemistry

Background:

• Injectable hydrogels are crucial for minimally invasive delivery of cells and bioactive compounds in tissue engineering.
• Elastin-like polypeptides (ELPs) offer desirable properties like biocompatibility and biodegradability but face challenges in injectable hydrogel development due to hydrophobicity.
• Coiled-coil unit-bound ELPs (CUBEs) were previously designed to overcome limitations of traditional ELPs for hydrogel formation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the injectability and cell delivery capabilities of a basic CUBE hydrogel system, O-CUBE (AVGVP)42-D88-CL.
• To assess the in situ gelation behavior and cell viability within the O-CUBE hydrogel.
• To demonstrate the potential of CUBE hydrogels for three-dimensional cell culture and delivery.

Main Methods:

• Preparation of O-CUBE protein solution and mixing with human cervical cancer (HeLa) cells.
• Injection of the cell-hydrogel mixture into pre-warmed culture medium (37 °C) to induce in situ gelation.
• Assessment of gelation rate, cell morphology, cell-cell interactions, and cell proliferation using DNA assays.

Main Results:

• O-CUBE hydrogel achieved approximately 90% gelation rate at 37 °C within pH 6-8.
• Encapsulated HeLa cells formed spheroid structures, indicating facilitated cell-cell interactions in 3D.
• HeLa cells encapsulated within the O-CUBE hydrogel demonstrated survival and proliferation.

Conclusions:

• The O-CUBE hydrogel system exhibits excellent injectability and in situ gelation properties.
• This CUBE-based hydrogel supports cell viability and proliferation, making it suitable for 3D cell culture.
• The O-CUBE hydrogel system shows significant promise as a biomaterial for minimally invasive cell delivery in tissue engineering applications.