Exploiting Meltable Protein Hydrogels to Encapsulate and Culture Cells in 3D.

ABSTRACT: There is a growing realization that 3D cell culture better mimics complex in vivo environments than 2D, lessening aberrant cellular behaviors and ultimately improving the outcomes of experiments. Chemically crosslinked hydrogels which imitate natural extracellular matrix (ECM) are proven cell culture platforms, but the encapsulation of cells within these hydrogel networks requires bioorthogonal crosslinking chemistries which can be cytotoxic, synthetically demanding, and costly. Capsular antigen fragment 1 (Caf1) is a bacterial, polymeric, fimbrial protein which can be genetically engineered to imitate ECM. Furthermore, it can, reversibly, thermally interconvert between its polymeric and monomeric forms even when chemically crosslinked within a hydrogel network. It is demonstrated that thi

SUBMITTER: Dura G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11475227 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature