Characterization of hydrogel
bulk properties. (a) Swelling ratio
measurements of the three different hydrogels groups. Data represent
the mean ± SD after swelling in αMEM (n = 5). PL-PEG hydrogels exhibited increased swelling at all time
points compared to the other two groups (p ≤
0.05). (b) Optical images representing hydrogels swollen in αMEM
for 72 h. The average diameters for PL-PEG, SDF1α-PEG, and MEM-PEG
gel disks shown in the image are 7.2, 6.7, and 6.6 mm, respectively.
The top panel shows a view of the hydrogels from above, while the
bottom panel shows a lateral view of the hydrogels. (c) Comparison
of storage moduli of all hydrogel groups. (* indicates significance
compared to PL-PEG hydrogels where p ≤ 0.05).