Complex Material Properties of Gel-Amin: A Transparent and Ionically Conductive Hydrogel for Neural Tissue Engineering

The field of tissue engineering has benefited greatly from the broad development of natural and synthetic polymers. Extensive work in neural engineering has demonstrated the value of conductive materials to improve spontaneous neuron activity as well as lowering the necessary field parameters for exogenous electrical stimulation. Further, cell fate is directly coupled to the mechanical properties of the cell culture substrate. Increasing the conductivity of hydrogel materials often necessitates the addition of dopant materials, organic and inorganic that facilitate electron mobility. However, very little electron transfer is observed in native cell signaling and most of these materials are opaque, severely limiting microscopy applications commonly employed to assess cell culture morphology and function. To overcome these shortcomings, the inclusion of an ionic liquid, Choline Acrylate, into the backbone of a modified collagen polymer increases the bulk conductivity 5-fold at a 1:1 ratio while maintaining optical transmission of visible light. Here, we explore how the inclusion of choline acrylate influences bulk material properties including the mechanical, swelling, and optical properties of our hydrogels, referred to as Gel-Amin hydrogels, as a material for tissue culture. The inclusion of an ionic liquid increases conductivity while maintaining a high degree of optical transmission. Despite an increase in swelling over traditional GelMA materials, the conductive hydrogels ...

Source: Cells Tissues Organs - April 25, 2022 Category: Cytology Source Type: research