Controlled Quenching of Agarose Defines Hydrogels with Tunable Structural, Bulk Mechanical, Surface Nanomechanical, and Cell Response in 2D Cultures.

ABSTRACT: The scaffolding of agarose hydrogel networks depends critically on the rate of cooling (quenching) after heating. Efforts are made to understand the kinetics and evolution of biopolymer self-assembly upon cooling, but information is lacking on whether quenching might affect the final hydrogel structure and performance. Here, a material strategy for the fine modulation of quenching that involves temperature-curing steps of agarose is reported. Combining microscopy techniques, standard and advanced macro/nanomechanical tools, it is revealed that agarose accumulates on the surface when the curing temperature is set at 121 °C. The inhomogeneity can be mostly recovered when it is reduced to 42 °C. This has a drastic effect on the stiffness of the surface, but not on the viscoelasticity, roughne

SUBMITTER: Piazza F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11468619 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature