Noncovalently Assembled Electroconductive Hydrogel

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

Abstract

Cross-linking biomolecules with electroconductive nanostructures through noncovalent interactions can result in modular networks with defined biological functions and physical properties such as electric conductivity and viscoelasticity. Moreover, the resulting matrices can exhibit interesting features caused by the dynamic assembly process, such as self-healing and molecular ordering. In this paper, we present a physical hydrogel system formed by mixing peptide-polyethylene glycol and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate. This combinatorial approach, which uses different modular building blocks, could lead to high tunability on aspects of rheology and electrical impedance. The proposed physical hydrogel system is characterized by both a self-healing ability and injectability. Interestingly, the formation of hydrogels at relatively low concentrations led to a network of closer molecular packing of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) nanoparticles, reflected by the enhanced conductivity. The biopolymer system can be used to develop three-dimensional cell cultures with incorporated electric stimuli, as evidenced by its contribution to the survival and proliferation of encapsulated mesenchymal stromal cells and their differentiation upon electrical stimulation.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)14418-14425
Number of pages8
JournalACS applied materials & interfaces
Volume10
Issue number17
Publication statusPublished - 12 Apr 2018
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

Scopus 85046375238
ORCID /0000-0001-5624-1717/work/142239013
ORCID /0000-0002-6669-4995/work/142251834

Keywords

Keywords

  • Cell Culture Techniques, Cell Differentiation, Hydrogels/chemistry, Mesenchymal Stem Cells, Polyethylene Glycols