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Kosmidis Papadimitriou A, Chong SW, Shen Y, Lee OS, Knowles TPJ, Grover LM, Vigolo D. Fabrication of gradient hydrogels using a thermophoretic approach in microfluidics. Biofabrication 2024; 16:025023. [PMID: 38377611 DOI: 10.1088/1758-5090/ad2b05] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2023] [Accepted: 02/20/2024] [Indexed: 02/22/2024]
Abstract
The extracellular matrix presents spatially varying physical cues that can influence cell behavior in many processes. Physical gradients within hydrogels that mimic the heterogenous mechanical microenvironment are useful to study the impact of these cues on cellular responses. Therefore, simple and reliable techniques to create such gradient hydrogels are highly desirable. This work demonstrates the fabrication of stiffness gradient Gellan gum (GG) hydrogels by applying a temperature gradient across a microchannel containing hydrogel precursor solution. Thermophoretic migration of components within the precursor solution generates a concentration gradient that mirrors the temperature gradient profile, which translates into mechanical gradients upon crosslinking. Using this technique, GG hydrogels with stiffness gradients ranging from 20 to 90 kPa over 600µm are created, covering the elastic moduli typical of moderately hard to hard tissues. MC3T3 osteoblast cells are then cultured on these gradient substrates, which exhibit preferential migration and enhanced osteogenic potential toward the stiffest region on the gradient. Overall, the thermophoretic approach provides a non-toxic and effective method to create hydrogels with defined mechanical gradients at the micron scale suitable forin vitrobiological studies and potentially tissue engineering applications.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Shin Wei Chong
- The University of Sydney, School of Biomedical Engineering, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
- The University of Sydney Nano Institute, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Yi Shen
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
- The University of Sydney, School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
- The University of Sydney Nano Institute, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Oisin Stefan Lee
- The University of Sydney, School of Biomedical Engineering, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Tuomas P J Knowles
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
| | - Liam M Grover
- School of Chemical Engineering, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom
| | - Daniele Vigolo
- School of Chemical Engineering, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom
- The University of Sydney, School of Biomedical Engineering, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
- The University of Sydney Nano Institute, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
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Zeng M, Huang Z, Cen X, Zhao Y, Xu F, Miao J, Zhang Q, Wang R. Biomimetic Gradient Hydrogels with High Toughness and Antibacterial Properties. Gels 2023; 10:6. [PMID: 38275844 PMCID: PMC10815424 DOI: 10.3390/gels10010006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2023] [Revised: 12/05/2023] [Accepted: 12/15/2023] [Indexed: 01/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Traditional hydrogels, as wound dressings, usually exhibit poor mechanical strength and slow drug release performance in clinical biomedical applications. Although various strategies have been investigated to address the above issues, it remains a challenge to develop a simple method for preparing hydrogels with both toughness and controlled drug release performance. In this study, a tannic acid-reinforced poly (sulfobetaine methacrylate) (TAPS) hydrogel was fabricated via free radical polymerization, and the TAPS hydrogel was subjected to a simple electrophoresis process to obtain the hydrogels with a gradient distribution of copper ions. These gradient hydrogels showed tunable mechanical properties by changing the electrophoresis time. When the electrophoresis time reached 15 min, the hydrogel had a tensile strength of 368.14 kPa, a tensile modulus of 16.17 kPa, and a compressive strength of 42.77 MPa. It could be loaded at 50% compressive strain and then unloaded for up to 70 cycles and maintained a constant compressive stress of 1.50 MPa. The controlled release of copper from different sides of the gradient hydrogels was observed. After 6 h of incubation, the hydrogel exhibited a strong bactericidal effect on Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus and Gram-negative Escherichia coli, with low toxicity to NIH/3T3 fibroblasts. The high toughness, controlled release of copper, and enhanced antimicrobial properties of the gradient hydrogels make them excellent candidates for wound dressings in biomedical applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mingzhu Zeng
- Institute of Smart Biomedical Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou 310018, China
- Zhejiang International Scientific and Technological Cooperative Base of Biomedical Materials and Technology, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo 315201, China
- Ningbo Cixi Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Ningbo 315300, China
| | - Zhimao Huang
- Zhejiang International Scientific and Technological Cooperative Base of Biomedical Materials and Technology, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo 315201, China
- Ningbo Cixi Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Ningbo 315300, China
| | - Xiao Cen
- Zhejiang International Scientific and Technological Cooperative Base of Biomedical Materials and Technology, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo 315201, China
- Ningbo Cixi Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Ningbo 315300, China
| | - Yinyu Zhao
- Zhejiang International Scientific and Technological Cooperative Base of Biomedical Materials and Technology, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo 315201, China
- Ningbo Cixi Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Ningbo 315300, China
| | - Fei Xu
- Institute of Smart Biomedical Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou 310018, China
| | - Jiru Miao
- Zhejiang International Scientific and Technological Cooperative Base of Biomedical Materials and Technology, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo 315201, China
- Ningbo Cixi Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Ningbo 315300, China
| | - Quan Zhang
- Institute of Smart Biomedical Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou 310018, China
| | - Rong Wang
- Zhejiang International Scientific and Technological Cooperative Base of Biomedical Materials and Technology, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo 315201, China
- Ningbo Cixi Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Ningbo 315300, China
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Pu D, Panahi A, Natale G, Benneker AM. Colloid thermophoresis in the dilute electrolyte concentration regime: from theory to experiment. SOFT MATTER 2023; 19:3464-3474. [PMID: 37129579 DOI: 10.1039/d2sm01668k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Colloid thermophoresis in aqueous media is vital for numerous applications in nanoscience and life sciences. To date, a general description of colloid thermophoresis in DI water has not been determined. Here, we describe a theoretical model within the framework of the Fokker-Planck formalism and the flickering cluster concept to describe the hydration entropy effect on the thermophoretic behaviour of colloids suspended in DI water and compare this to new experimental results. We built an experimental platform to allow for rapid and robust temperature control and investigate the thermophoretic behaviour of silica microspheres with different sizes at various background temperatures for comparison. In this work, the ionic shielding effect is accounted for by using the well-known Duhr-Dhont's model, and the hydration layer effect is determined using the developed theoretical model. For the latter, our model reveals that the sign of the Soret coefficient is governed by the interplay between the binding energy and the chemical potential of water molecules, which were found to be in the same order of magnitude. We show that our analysis accurately describes the experimental behaviour of colloidal particles that opens a new avenue for developing versatile trapping and separation techniques for various colloidal particles in aqueous systems according to their size and background temperature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Di Pu
- Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 1N4, Canada.
| | - Amirreza Panahi
- Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 1N4, Canada.
| | - Giovanniantonio Natale
- Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 1N4, Canada.
| | - Anne M Benneker
- Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 1N4, Canada.
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Shen Y, Ruggeri FS, Vigolo D, Kamada A, Qamar S, Levin A, Iserman C, Alberti S, George-Hyslop PS, Knowles TPJ. Biomolecular condensates undergo a generic shear-mediated liquid-to-solid transition. NATURE NANOTECHNOLOGY 2020; 15:841-847. [PMID: 32661370 PMCID: PMC7116851 DOI: 10.1038/s41565-020-0731-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 78] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2020] [Accepted: 06/05/2020] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
Membrane-less organelles resulting from liquid-liquid phase separation of biopolymers into intracellular condensates control essential biological functions, including messenger RNA processing, cell signalling and embryogenesis1-4. It has recently been discovered that several such protein condensates can undergo a further irreversible phase transition, forming solid nanoscale aggregates associated with neurodegenerative disease5-7. While the irreversible gelation of protein condensates is generally related to malfunction and disease, one case where the liquid-to-solid transition of protein condensates is functional, however, is that of silk spinning8,9. The formation of silk fibrils is largely driven by shear, yet it is not known what factors control the pathological gelation of functional condensates. Here we demonstrate that four proteins and one peptide system, with no function associated with fibre formation, have a strong propensity to undergo a liquid-to-solid transition when exposed to even low levels of mechanical shear once present in their liquid-liquid phase separated form. Using microfluidics to control the application of shear, we generated fibres from single-protein condensates and characterized their structural and material properties as a function of shear stress. Our results reveal generic backbone-backbone hydrogen bonding constraints as a determining factor in governing this transition. These observations suggest that shear can play an important role in the irreversible liquid-to-solid transition of protein condensates, shed light on the role of physical factors in driving this transition in protein aggregation-related diseases and open a new route towards artificial shear responsive biomaterials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Shen
- Centre for Misfolding Diseases, Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Francesco Simone Ruggeri
- Centre for Misfolding Diseases, Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Daniele Vigolo
- School of Chemical Engineering, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
| | - Ayaka Kamada
- Centre for Misfolding Diseases, Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Seema Qamar
- Cambridge Institute for Medical Research, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Aviad Levin
- Centre for Misfolding Diseases, Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Christiane Iserman
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany
| | - Simon Alberti
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany
| | - Peter St George-Hyslop
- Cambridge Institute for Medical Research, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Department of Medicine, Division of Neurology, University of Toronto and University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Tuomas P J Knowles
- Centre for Misfolding Diseases, Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
- Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
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