Polymers 2010, 2(3), 252-264; doi:10.3390/polym2030252
Article

Synthesis and Characterization of Carboxymethylcellulose-Methacrylate Hydrogel Cell Scaffolds

Robert Reevesemail, Andreia Ribeiroemail, Leonard Lombardoemail, Richard Boyeremail and Jennie B. Leach* email
Department of Chemical & Biochemical Engineering, UMBC, 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250 USA
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 13 July 2010; in revised form: 16 August 2010 / Accepted: 25 August 2010 / Published: 26 August 2010
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural Polymers)
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Abstract: Many carbohydrates pose advantages for tissue engineering applications due to their hydrophilicity, degradability, and availability of chemical groups for modification. For example, carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) is a water-soluble cellulose derivative that is degradable by cellulase. Though this enzyme is not synthesized by mammalian cells, cellulase and the fragments derived from CMC degradation are biocompatible. With this in mind, we created biocompatible, selectively degradable CMC-based hydrogels that are stable in routine culture, but degrade when exposed to exogenous cellulase. Solutions of CMC-methacrylate and polyethylene glycol dimethacrylate (PEG-DM) were co-crosslinked to form stable hydrogels; we found that greater CMC-methacrylate content resulted in increased gel swelling, protein diffusion and rates of degradation by cellulase, as well as decreased gel shear modulus. CMC-methacrylate/PEG-DM gels modified with the adhesive peptide RGD supported fibroblast adhesion and viability. We conclude that hydrogels based on CMC-methacrylate are suitable for bioengineering applications where selective degradability may be favorable, such as cell scaffolds or controlled release devices.
Keywords: hydrogel; natural biomaterial; carboxymethylcellulose; fibroblast adhesion

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MDPI and ACS Style

Reeves, R.; Ribeiro, A.; Lombardo, L.; Boyer, R.; Leach, J.B. Synthesis and Characterization of Carboxymethylcellulose-Methacrylate Hydrogel Cell Scaffolds. Polymers 2010, 2, 252-264.

AMA Style

Reeves R, Ribeiro A, Lombardo L, Boyer R, Leach JB. Synthesis and Characterization of Carboxymethylcellulose-Methacrylate Hydrogel Cell Scaffolds. Polymers. 2010; 2(3):252-264.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Reeves, Robert; Ribeiro, Andreia; Lombardo, Leonard; Boyer, Richard; Leach, Jennie B. 2010. "Synthesis and Characterization of Carboxymethylcellulose-Methacrylate Hydrogel Cell Scaffolds." Polymers 2, no. 3: 252-264.

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