Photodegradable Hydrogels for Dynamic Tuning of Physical and Chemical Properties
April M. Kloxin,1
Andrea M. Kasko,1,2*
Chelsea N. Salinas,1
Kristi S. Anseth1,2
We report a strategy to create photodegradable poly(ethylene
glycol)–based hydrogels through rapid polymerization of
cytocompatible macromers for remote manipulation of gel properties
in situ. Postgelation control of the gel properties was demonstrated
to introduce temporal changes, creation of arbitrarily shaped
features, and on-demand pendant functionality release. Channels
photodegraded within a hydrogel containing encapsulated cells
allow cell migration. Temporal variation of the biochemical
gel composition was used to influence chondrogenic differentiation
of encapsulated stem cells. Photodegradable gels that allow
real-time manipulation of material properties or chemistry provide
dynamic environments with the scope to answer fundamental questions
about material regulation of live cell function and may affect
an array of applications from design of drug delivery vehicles
to tissue engineering systems.
2 Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Colorado, 424 UCB ECCH 111, Boulder, CO 80309, USA.
* Present address: Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095–1600, USA.
To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: Kristi.Anseth{at}colorado.edu
