This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Researchers at Tampere University have developed a versatile hydrogel platform that makes it easier to create customized biomaterials for tissue engineering, disease modeling, drug discovery and regenerative medicine. Their plug-and-play crosslinking technology enables the design of a wide range of hydrogels in which biological molecules, such as proteins, peptides and nucleic acids, can be incorporated under gentle, cell-friendly conditions.
The paper is published in the journal Cell Reports Physical Science. Hydrogels are water-rich materials that are widely used to mimic the extracellular matrix, the natural environment that surrounds cells within the body. However, existing methods often require multiple chemical modification steps, specialized reagents or conditions that can limit biological functionality and make customization difficult.
To address this challenge, the researchers developed a platform based on gallic acid, a naturally occurring antioxidant found in plants, fruits and tea leaves. When gallic acid-modified biopolymers are exposed to blue light in the presence of riboflavin (vitamin B2), they rapidly form hydrogels and simultaneously bind a wide variety of proteins, DNA and RNA without requiring these molecules to be chemically modified beforehand. "Many current hydrogel systems rely on specialized chemistries, often involving toxic chemicals, multiple preparation steps or synthetic additives that can affect cells," says lead author and doctoral researcher Austin Donnelly Evans from Tampere University.
"We wanted to develop a platform that is simple, flexible and as cell-friendly as possible, while enabling biomolecules to be incorporated in their active state." A key advantage of the system is its ability to preserve the functionality of incorporated biomolecules. The researchers demonstrated that the Wnt3A signaling protein, embedded within the hydrogel, remained biologically active and continued to influence cell behavior after gel formation. The hydrogels also supported high cell viability and enabled cell growth in three-dimensional environments that more closely resemble living tissues.
The platform is also highly adaptable. The researchers were able to tailor the physical properties of the hydrogel and select which biological components to incorporate, making it possible to create tissue-specific environments for a range of applications. "Gallic acid allows us to create robust hydrogels while preserving the functionality of both the underlying biomaterial and the incorporated biological molecules," says Evans.
"The resulting materials also behave more like natural tissues, which are dynamic, partially self-healing, viscoelastic and flexible." Unlike many light-activated hydrogel technologies, the new platform relies on riboflavin, a naturally occurring vitamin already present in biological systems. The researchers also found that, in some cases, hydrogel formation can be achieved using standard cell culture media alone, without the need for a separate photoinitiator. "This means researchers can create sophisticated biomaterials with fewer components and simpler chemistry, while preserving the integrity and bioactivity of sensitive biopolymers," says Professor Oommen P.
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