Functional Human Vascular Network Generated in Photocrosslinkable Gelatin Methacrylate Hydrogels.

ABSTRACT: The generation of functional, 3D vascular networks is a fundamental prerequisite for the development of many future tissue engineering-based therapies. Current approaches in vascular network bioengineering are largely carried out using natural hydrogels as embedding scaffolds. However, most natural hydrogels present a poor mechanical stability and a suboptimal durability, which are critical limitations that hamper their widespread applicability. The search for improved hydrogels has become a priority in tissue engineering research. Here, the suitability of a photopolymerizable gelatin methacrylate (GelMA) hydrogel to support human progenitor cell-based formation of vascular networks is demonstrated. Using GelMA as the embedding scaffold, it is shown that 3D constructs containing human bloo

SUBMITTER: Chen YC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3422083 | biostudies-literature | 2012 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature