Table 1.

Example calculations for the preparation of glycated collagen-I/BME hydrogels

Reagents
Stock collagen concentration (mg/mL)	10
Desired collagen concentration (mg/mL)	4.8
Stock Ribose concentration (mM)	2500
Desired Ribose concentration (mM)	500
Desired BME (Matrigel) concentration (%)	20
Experimental setup	Soft	Stiff
Injection volume (μL)	50	50
Number of injections (#glands x 2)	20	20
Total volume	1000	1000
Step 1: Collagen glycation	Soft	Stiff
Component	Volume (μL)	Volume (μL)
Collagen I (rat tail)	800	800	(Collagen I)
0.1% acetic acid	200	–	8.00
0.1% acetic acid +2.5 M ribose	–	200	Mg/mL
Total volume	1000	1000
Incubate @ 4 °C for 14 days
Step 2: Collagen preparation	Soft	Stiff
Component	Volume (μL)	Volume (μL)	(Collagen I)
Collagen I ± ribose	600	600	4.8
BME (Matrigel)	200	200	Mg/mL
1 N NaOH	14	14	(BME)
10X DMEM	100	100	20.00
1X PBS	86	86	%
Total volume	1000	1000