Photoresponsive Hydrogels for Studying Mechanotransduction of Cells

Abstract

Hydrogels are important platform materials for in vitro cellular studies. Mechanistic studies on durotaxis, the directional movement of a cell affected by a spatial gradient of stiffness of the underlying substrate, requires materials such as polyacrylamide, polyethylene glycol, or PDMS, in which the stiffness can be controlled in a spatiotemporal manner. Here, we describe the synthesis of an o-nitrobenzyl-based photocleavable cross-linker and its incorporation into a polyacrylamide hydrogel to render it photoresponsive. Precise control over the physical properties of the gel allows observation of glioblastoma durotaxis under surface stiffness conditions relevant to the actual brain environment.

Keywords: Durotaxis; ECM micropatterning; Fibronectin; Mechanotransduction; Photocleavable cross-linker; Photoresponsive hydrogel; Polyacrylamide; Stiffness pattern; U-251 glioblastoma; o-nitrobenzyl.