Fig. 1.

Physical properties and biocompatibility of GelMA/HAMA hydrogel. (A) The appearance of 2D monolayer cell (Phalloidin-FITC and DAPI staining), tumour spheroids [i.e., cancer stem-like cells (CSC)] and 3D hydrogel models (HOS). Scale bar = 100 μm. (B) The AFM image indicates the apparent Young's modulus of 3D hydrogel in a square of 10 μm*10 μm. (C) The average apparent Young's modulus of 3D hydrogel. (D) Drug permeability of 3D model tested by FITC. Scale bar = 250 μm. Temperature sweep analysis (E) of the bioink used in 3D tumour models. Brightfield confocal photos (F) and 3D reconstruction photos (G) of HOS viability measured by Live/Dead assays on days 1, 4, 7. Scale bar = 250 μm. (H) Living cells rate was quantified by image analysis of the 3D hydrogel models. The green part of column represents living cells, while the red part of column represents dead cells. (I) The CCK-8 assays were carried out on days 1, 4, and 7 to measure the HOS cell proliferation in 2D, CSC and 3D models. The data are expressed as mean ± SD (n = 3). **p < 0.01 indicate statistical significance.