Table 1.
Representative hydrogels that can be used for cell culture studies.
| Material | Example Vendors | Notable Material Features |
|---|---|---|
| Natural Materials | ||
| Collagen | BD BioSciences, Advanced BioMatrix (PureCol, FibriCol), Vitrogen, Flexcell (Thermacol, Collagel) | Typically sourced from rat tail tendon or bovine skin/tendon; Usually purchased in pepsin or acid solubilized form and stored at low pH and temperature; Enzymatically degradable; Exhibits structural and mechanical properties reminiscent of native tissues; Presents native cell adhesion ligands |
| Fibrin | Baxter (Tisseel, Artiss), Johnson & Johnson (Evicel), Sigma | Typically sourced from human plasma; Enzymatically degradable; Provides good substrate for studying wound healing phenomena in vitro; low mechanics limit utility |
| Alginate | NovaMatrix-3D, PRONOVA (FMC BioPolymer) | Derived from brown algae; Must be modified with adhesive ligands for cell attachment; Ionic crosslinking with divalent cations enables easy cell encapsulation and recovery; Additional covalent crosslinking often needed for strength |
| Synthetic Materials | ||
| Polyacrylamide (PA) | Sigma | Wide range tuning of substrate mechanics; Probably the most standardized material as far as protocols for making hydrogels and using for culture; Suitable for 2D cell culture only |
| Polyethylene glycol (PEG) | QGel Inc (QGel), Sigma, Cellendes (3-D Life Dextran-PEG or PVA-PEG) BioTime Inc (PEG-gel) | “Blank slate” synthetic material enables a wealth of user modifications; Pre-modified and various molecular weights are readily available; Can be engineered to present different adhesive ligands and to degrade via passive, proteolytic, or user-directed modes |
| Hybrid Materials | ||
| Hyaluronic acid (HA) | Lifecore (Corgel BioHydrogel), BioTime Inc (HyS-tem), BRTI Life Sciences (Cell-Mate3D) | Usually produced via bacterial fermentation, but can also be sourced from animal products; Wide variety and high degree of potential chemical modification enables considerable tunability; Interacts with cell receptors but must be modified with adhesive ligands to permit cell attachment |
| Polypeptides | Corning (PuraMatrix), PepGel LLC (PGmatrix), Sigma (HydroMatrix) | Typically formed by self-assembly; Useful in soft tissue applications and in conjunction with other materials; Protein engineering enables great design flexibility |