Investigation of human adipose-derived stem-cell behavior using a cell-instructive polydopamine-coated gelatin-alginate hydrogel.

Authors

Settimio Pacelli
Aparna R Chakravarti
Saman Modaresi
Siddharth Subham
Kyley Burkey
Cecilia Kurlbaum
Madeline Fang
Christopher A Neal
Adam J Mellott
Aishik Chakraborty, Western UmiversityFollow
Arghya Paul, Western UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

12-1-2021

Journal

Journal of Biomedical Materials Research. Part A

Volume

109

Issue

12

First Page

2597

Last Page

2610

URL with Digital Object Identifier

https://doi.org/10.1002/jbm.a.37253

Abstract

Hydrogels can be fabricated and designed to exert direct control over stem cells' adhesion and differentiation. In this study, we have investigated the use of polydopamine (pDA)-treatment as a binding platform for bioactive compounds to create a versatile gelatin-alginate (Gel-Alg) hydrogel for tissue engineering applications. Precisely, pDA was used to modify the surface properties of the hydrogel and better control the adhesion and osteogenic differentiation of human adipose-derived stem cells (hASCs). pDA enabled the adsorption of different types of bioactive molecules, including a model osteoinductive drug (dexamethasone) as well as a model pro-angiogenic peptide (QK). The pDA treatment efficiently retained the drug and the peptide compared to the untreated hydrogel and proved to be effective in controlling the morphology, cell area, and osteogenic differentiation of hASCs. Overall, the findings of this study confirm the efficacy of pDA treatment as a valuable strategy to modulate the biological properties of biocompatible Gel-Alg hydrogels and further extend their value in regenerative medicine.