Tuneable Recombinant Spider Silk Protein Hydrogels for Drug Release and 3D Cell Culture.

ABSTRACT: Hydrogels are useful drug release systems and tissue engineering scaffolds. However, synthetic hydrogels often require harsh gelation conditions and can contain toxic by-products while naturally derived hydrogels can transmit pathogens and in general have poor mechanical properties. Thus, there is a need for a hydrogel that forms under ambient conditions, is non-toxic, xeno-free, and has good mechanical properties. A recombinant spider silk protein-derived hydrogel that rapidly forms at 37 °C is recently developed. The temperature and gelation times are well-suited for an injectable in situ polymerising hydrogel, as well as a 3D cell culture scaffold. Here, it is shown that the diffusion rate and the mechanical properties can be tuned by changing the protein concentration and that human fe

SUBMITTER: Arndt T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11440629 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature