FIG. 1.

GelMA/MeTro composite hydrogel application and chemical validation. (A) Transected nerve repaired by suturing individual fascicles and the connective tissue. (B) Transected nerve repaired with a sutured-on hollow nerve conduit. (C) Transected nerve repaired by photocrosslinking a SC-laden GelMA/MeTro composite adhesive to align fascicles and suturing of connective tissue. The use of engineered adhesive limits the total number of sutures. Proton nuclear magnetic resonance (D) GelMA, (E) MeTro, and (F) GelMA/MeTro composite confirming the degree of crosslinking in the composite to be 73.3%. SC, Schwann cell; GelMA, gelatin-methacryloyl; MeTro, methacryloyl-substituted tropoelastin. Color images available online at www.liebertpub.com/tea