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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik
BP 29: Posters: Biopolymers \& Biomaterials
BP 29.20: Poster
Thursday, March 17, 2011, 17:15–20:00, P3
Mechanically Tunable Hydrogels as Biomimetic Matrices — •Christina Jayachandran1 and Florian Rehfeldt2 — 1Drittes Physikalisches Institut, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Germany — 2Drittes Physikalisches Institut, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Germany
Cells face various micro-environments in vivo that differ significantly both in physical and biochemical properties and the extra cellular matrix (ECM) is essential to provide these cues. Mimicking the diverse environments in vitro is necessary to understand the fundamental processes that govern cell matrix interactions but also of great importance for medical applications such as regenerative medicine.
Polyacrylamide (PA) gels with varying elasticity are routinely used to study how cells respond to matrix stiffness. Our strategy is based on hyaluronic acid (HA), one of the major polysaccharides in the ECM that is FDA approved for various medical applications. Chemically modified HA is cross-linked to form a hydrogel and the stiffness of these gels can be finely tuned over the whole physiologically relevant range. Combining these mechanically tunable hydrogels with different ECM proteins we can mimic distinct in vivo niches and study the response of cells on the physical and biochemical cues.