Tailoring the Degradation Time of Polycationic PEG-Based Hydrogels toward Dynamic Cell Culture Matrices.

Poly(ethylene glycol)-based (PEG) hydrogels provide an ideal platform to obtain well-defined and tailor-made cell culture matrices to enhance cell culture conditions, although cell adhesion is often challenging when the cells are cultivated on the substrate surface. We herein demonstrate two approaches for the synthesis of polycationic PEG-based hydrogels which were modified to enhance cell-matrix interactions, to improve two-dimensional (2D) cell culture, and catalyze hydrolytic degradation. While the utilization of ,-(bisacryloxyethyl) amine (BAA) as cross-linker for gelation provides degradable scaffolds for dynamic cell culture, the incorporation of short segments of poly(-(3-(dimethylamino)propyl)acrylamide) (PDMAPAam) provides high local cationic charge density leading to PEG-based hydrogels with high selectivity for fibroblastic cell lines. The adsorption of transforming growth factor (TGF-β) into the hydrogels induced stimulation of fibrosis and thus the formation of collagen as a natural ECM compound. With this, these dynamic hydrogels enhance cell culture by providing a well-defined, artificial, and degradable matrix that stimulates cells to produce their own natural scaffold within a defined time frame.