Biohybrid corneal stromal tissue formation using keratocytes encapsulated in supramolecular microgels.

ABSTRACT: Compared to bulk hydrogels, microgels offer distinct advantages for biomedical applications. Their increased modularity and heterogeneity compared to hydrogels, combined with their small size and reversible dynamic bonding, enhance their suitability for minimally invasive cell delivery. Additionally, microgels offer greater control over porosity, resulting in the formation of intricate porous microstructures. In this work, keratocytes encapsulated in ureidopyrimidinone (UPy) supramolecular microgels functionalized with UPy-cRGD were fabricated to generate a micro stromal tissue in vitro. Both the human corneal keratocyte cell line (HCK) and primary keratocytes (PK) demonstrated effective cell-cell and cell-matrix mediated microgel assembly, resulting in the formation of self-generated scaf

SUBMITTER: Rovers MM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12396479 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature