| 초록 |
Hydrogels have been widely exploited as a synthetic extracellular matrix (ECM) in many tissue engineering applications. Hyaluronate, a major ECM component, has been frequently used for hydrogel preparation. However, hyaluronate generally forms hydrogel by chemical cross-linking and its mechanical stiffness is dependent on the amount of chemical cross-linking agent used. A hybrid structure of hyaluronate and alginate has been proposed to physically form hydrogel in the presence of calcium ion without chemical cross-linking agent. In this study, hyaluronate-alginate hybrid gels with controllable mechanical stiffness were prepared by varying the molecular weight of hyaluronate while keeping the same concentration of calcium ion. Chondrogenic differentiation of chondrocytes cultured within hyaluronate-alginate hybrid hydrogel was greatly influenced by the mechanical stiffness of the gel. This hybrid gel may be useful for tissue engineering, including cartilage regeneration. |
