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Chen J, Luo Y. Disodium Cromoglycate Templates Anisotropic Short-Chain PEG Hydrogels. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2024; 16:33223-33234. [PMID: 38885610 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.4c07181] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/20/2024]
Abstract
Anisotropic hydrogels have found widespread applications in biomedical engineering, particularly as scaffolds for tissue engineering. However, it remains a challenge to produce them using conventional fabrication methods, without specialized synthesis or equipment, such as 3D printing and unidirectional stretching. In this study, we explore the self-assembly behaviors of polyethylene glycol diacrylate (PEGDA), using disodium cromoglycate (DSCG), a lyotropic chromonic liquid crystal, as a removable template. The affinity between short-chain PEGDA (Mn = 250) and DSCG allows polymerization to take place at the DSCG surface, thereby forming anisotropic hydrogel networks with fibrin-like morphologies. This process requires considerable finesse as the phase behaviors of DSCG depend on a multitude of factors, including the weight percentage of PEGDA and DSCG, the chain length of PEGDA, and the concentration of ionic species. The key to modulating the microstructures of the all-PEG hydrogel networks is through precise control of the DSCG concentration, resulting in anisotropic mechanical properties. Using these anisotropic hydrogel networks, we demonstrate that human dermal fibroblasts are particularly sensitive to the alignment order. We find that cells exhibit a density-dependent activation pattern of a Yes-associated protein, a mechanotransducer, corroborating its role in enabling cells to translate external mechanical and morphological patterns to specific behaviors. The flexibility of modulating microstructure, along with PEG hydrogels' biocompatibility and biodegradability, underscores their potential use for tissue engineering to create functional structures with physiological morphologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan Chen
- Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06511, United States
| | - Yimin Luo
- Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06511, United States
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Fraccia TP, Zanchetta G. Liquid–liquid crystalline phase separation in biomolecular solutions. Curr Opin Colloid Interface Sci 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cocis.2021.101500] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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Effect of Crowding Agent Polyethylene Glycol on Lyotropic Chromonic Liquid Crystal Phases of Disodium Cromoglycate. CRYSTALS 2019. [DOI: 10.3390/cryst9030160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Adding crowding agents such as polyethylene glycol (PEG) to lyotropic chromonic liquid crystals (LCLCs) formed by water dispersions of materials such as disodium cromoglicate (DSCG) leads to a phase separation of the isotropic phase and the ordered phase. This behavior resembles nanoscale condensation of DNAs but occurs at the microscale. The structure of condensed chromonic regions in crowded dispersions is not yet fully understood, in particular, it is not clear whether the condensed domains are in the nematic (N) or the columnar (C) state. In this study, we report on small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) measurements of mixtures of aqueous solutions of DSCG with PEG and compare results to measurements of aqueous solutions of pure DSCG. X-ray measurements demonstrate that addition of PEG to DSCG in the N phase triggers appearance of the C phase that coexists with the isotropic (I) phase. Within the coexisting region, the lateral distance between the columns of the chromonic aggregates decreases as the temperature is increased.
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Park HS, Kang SW, Tortora L, Nastishin Y, Finotello D, Kumar S, Lavrentovich OD. Self-Assembly of Lyotropic Chromonic Liquid Crystal Sunset Yellow and Effects of Ionic Additives. J Phys Chem B 2008; 112:16307-19. [DOI: 10.1021/jp804767z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 121] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Heung-Shik Park
- Liquid Crystal Institute and Chemical Physics Interdisciplinary Program and Department of Physics, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio 44242, Institute of Physical Optics, 23 Dragomanov Street, Lviv 79005, Ukraine, and Division of Materials Research, National Science Foundation, Arlington, Virginia 22230
| | - Shin-Woong Kang
- Liquid Crystal Institute and Chemical Physics Interdisciplinary Program and Department of Physics, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio 44242, Institute of Physical Optics, 23 Dragomanov Street, Lviv 79005, Ukraine, and Division of Materials Research, National Science Foundation, Arlington, Virginia 22230
| | - Luana Tortora
- Liquid Crystal Institute and Chemical Physics Interdisciplinary Program and Department of Physics, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio 44242, Institute of Physical Optics, 23 Dragomanov Street, Lviv 79005, Ukraine, and Division of Materials Research, National Science Foundation, Arlington, Virginia 22230
| | - Yuriy Nastishin
- Liquid Crystal Institute and Chemical Physics Interdisciplinary Program and Department of Physics, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio 44242, Institute of Physical Optics, 23 Dragomanov Street, Lviv 79005, Ukraine, and Division of Materials Research, National Science Foundation, Arlington, Virginia 22230
| | - Daniele Finotello
- Liquid Crystal Institute and Chemical Physics Interdisciplinary Program and Department of Physics, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio 44242, Institute of Physical Optics, 23 Dragomanov Street, Lviv 79005, Ukraine, and Division of Materials Research, National Science Foundation, Arlington, Virginia 22230
| | - Satyendra Kumar
- Liquid Crystal Institute and Chemical Physics Interdisciplinary Program and Department of Physics, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio 44242, Institute of Physical Optics, 23 Dragomanov Street, Lviv 79005, Ukraine, and Division of Materials Research, National Science Foundation, Arlington, Virginia 22230
| | - Oleg D. Lavrentovich
- Liquid Crystal Institute and Chemical Physics Interdisciplinary Program and Department of Physics, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio 44242, Institute of Physical Optics, 23 Dragomanov Street, Lviv 79005, Ukraine, and Division of Materials Research, National Science Foundation, Arlington, Virginia 22230
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