Use of collagen-hydroxyethylmethacrylate hydrogels for cell growth.

Collagen-hydroxyethylmethacrylate hydrogels were prepared by polymerizing monomeric hydroxyethylmethacrylate in the presence of various concentrations of soluble native collagen. The resulting transparent hydrogels were evaluated as substrata for growth of IMR-90 human embryonic lung fibroblasts. Without collagen no significant growth occurred, whereas a dose-response curve expressing maximal cell growth against collagen concentration could be constructed quite readily by the use of appropriate hydrogels. The method allows for quantification of the collagen contribution to cell growth and, in a more general sense, provides the foundation for a relatively easy procedure to probe mechanisms of cell adhesion and cell differentiation.