TY - JOUR
T1 - A self-folding hydrogel in vitro model for ductal carcinoma
AU - Kwag, Hye Rin
AU - Serbo, Janna V.
AU - Korangath, Preethi
AU - Sukumar, Saraswati
AU - Romer, Lewis H.
AU - Gracias, David H.
N1 - Funding Information:
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institutes of Health under award Numbers U54CA141868, NRSA F31 EB018187, and the National Science Foundation Grant numberCBET-1462184. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the funding agencies.
Publisher Copyright:
© Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. 2016.
PY - 2016/4/1
Y1 - 2016/4/1
N2 - A significant challenge in oncology is the need to develop in vitro models that accurately mimic the complex microenvironment within and around normal and diseased tissues. Here, we describe a self-folding approach to create curved hydrogel microstructures that more accurately mimic the geometry of ducts and acini within the mammary glands, as compared to existing three-dimensional block-like models or flat dishes. The microstructures are composed of photopatterned bilayers of poly (ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA), a hydrogel widely used in tissue engineering. The PEGDA bilayers of dissimilar molecular weights spontaneously curve when released from the underlying substrate due to differential swelling ratios. The photopatterns can be altered via AutoCAD-designed photomasks so that a variety of ductal and acinar mimetic structures can be mass-produced. In addition, by co-polymerizing methacrylated gelatin (methagel) with PEGDA, microstructures with increased cell adherence are synthesized. Biocompatibility and versatility of our approach is highlighted by culturing either SUM159 cells, which were seeded postfabrication, or MDA-MB-231 cells, which were encapsulated in hydrogels; cell viability is verified over 9 and 15 days, respectively. We believe that self-folding processes and associated tubular, curved, and folded constructs like the ones demonstrated here can facilitate the design of more accurate in vitro models for investigating ductal carcinoma.
AB - A significant challenge in oncology is the need to develop in vitro models that accurately mimic the complex microenvironment within and around normal and diseased tissues. Here, we describe a self-folding approach to create curved hydrogel microstructures that more accurately mimic the geometry of ducts and acini within the mammary glands, as compared to existing three-dimensional block-like models or flat dishes. The microstructures are composed of photopatterned bilayers of poly (ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA), a hydrogel widely used in tissue engineering. The PEGDA bilayers of dissimilar molecular weights spontaneously curve when released from the underlying substrate due to differential swelling ratios. The photopatterns can be altered via AutoCAD-designed photomasks so that a variety of ductal and acinar mimetic structures can be mass-produced. In addition, by co-polymerizing methacrylated gelatin (methagel) with PEGDA, microstructures with increased cell adherence are synthesized. Biocompatibility and versatility of our approach is highlighted by culturing either SUM159 cells, which were seeded postfabrication, or MDA-MB-231 cells, which were encapsulated in hydrogels; cell viability is verified over 9 and 15 days, respectively. We believe that self-folding processes and associated tubular, curved, and folded constructs like the ones demonstrated here can facilitate the design of more accurate in vitro models for investigating ductal carcinoma.
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U2 - 10.1089/ten.tec.2015.0442
DO - 10.1089/ten.tec.2015.0442
M3 - Article
C2 - 26831041
AN - SCOPUS:84963788701
SN - 1937-3384
VL - 22
SP - 398
EP - 407
JO - Tissue Engineering - Part C: Methods
JF - Tissue Engineering - Part C: Methods
IS - 4
ER -