29 March 2024 | Karen L. Xu, Nikolas Di Caprio, Hooman Fallahi, Mohammad Dehghany, Matthew D. Davidson, Lorille Laforest, Brian C. H. Cheung, Yuqi Zhang, Mingming Wu, Vivek Shenoy, Lin Han, Robert L. Mauck, Jason A. Burdick
This study explores the use of biopolymer-based bicontinuous hydrogels to guide rapid 3D cell migration. Bicontinuous hydrogels, formed through controlled solution immiscibility, exhibit high micro-interfacial surface areas and continuous subdomains, enabling rapid 3D migration compared to homogeneous hydrogels. The hydrogels consist of a covalently crosslinked gelatin network and a physically crosslinked hyaluronic acid (HA) network. The bicontinuous structure, characterized by gelatin-rich (GR) and gelatin-poor (GP) domains, provides microinterfaces that facilitate cell migration. Cell migration in these hydrogels is mesenchymal in nature and influenced by biochemical and biophysical signals from the hydrogel. The study demonstrates that bicontinuous hydrogels support rapid cell migration from spheroids and ex vivo tissues, with cells utilizing the microinterfaces for migration. The findings highlight the potential of bicontinuous hydrogels in tissue repair and regeneration applications.This study explores the use of biopolymer-based bicontinuous hydrogels to guide rapid 3D cell migration. Bicontinuous hydrogels, formed through controlled solution immiscibility, exhibit high micro-interfacial surface areas and continuous subdomains, enabling rapid 3D migration compared to homogeneous hydrogels. The hydrogels consist of a covalently crosslinked gelatin network and a physically crosslinked hyaluronic acid (HA) network. The bicontinuous structure, characterized by gelatin-rich (GR) and gelatin-poor (GP) domains, provides microinterfaces that facilitate cell migration. Cell migration in these hydrogels is mesenchymal in nature and influenced by biochemical and biophysical signals from the hydrogel. The study demonstrates that bicontinuous hydrogels support rapid cell migration from spheroids and ex vivo tissues, with cells utilizing the microinterfaces for migration. The findings highlight the potential of bicontinuous hydrogels in tissue repair and regeneration applications.