Alge DL, Azagarsamy MA, Donohue DF, Anseth KS. Synthetically tractable click hydrogels for three-dimensional cell culture formed using tetrazine-norbornene chemistry.
Biomacromolecules 2013;
14:949-53. [PMID:
23448682 PMCID:
PMC3623454 DOI:
10.1021/bm4000508]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 189] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
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The implementation of bio-orthogonal
click chemistries is a topic
of growing importance in the field of biomaterials, as it is enabling
the development of increasingly complex hydrogel materials capable
of providing dynamic, cell-instructive microenvironments. Here, we
introduce the tetrazine–norbornene inverse electron demand
Diels–Alder reaction as a new cross-linking chemistry for the
formation of cell laden hydrogels. The fast reaction rate and irreversible
nature of this click reaction allowed for hydrogel formation within
minutes when a multifunctional PEG-tetrazine macromer was reacted
with a dinorbornene peptide. In addition, the cytocompatibility of
the polymerization led to high postencapsulation viability of human
mesenchymal stem cells, and the specificity of the tetrazine–norbornene
reaction was exploited for sequential modification of the network
via thiol–ene photochemistry. These advantages, combined with
the synthetic accessibility of the tetrazine molecule compared to
other bio-orthogonal click reagents, make this cross-linking chemistry
an interesting and powerful new tool for the development of cell-instructive
hydrogels for tissue engineering applications.
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