Hyaluronic acid-based hydrogels with tunable mechanics improved structural and contractile properties of cells

Extracellular matrix (ECM) regulates cellular responses through mechanotransduction. The standard approach of in vitro culturing on plastic surfaces overlooks this phenomenon, so there is a need for biocompatible materials that exhibit adjustable mechanical and structural properties, promote cell adhesion and proliferation at low cost and for use in 2D or 3D cell cultures. This study presents a new tunable hydrogel system prepared from high-molecular hyaluronic acid (HA), Bovine serum albumin (BSA), and gelatin cross-linked using EDC/NHS. Hydrogels with Young's moduli (E) ranging from subunit to units of kilopascals were prepared by gradually increasing HA and BSA concentrations. Concentrated high-molecular HA network led to stiffer hydrogel with lower cluster size and swelling capacity. Medium and oxygen diffusion capability of all hydrogels showed they are suitable for 3D cell cultures. Mechanical and structural changes of mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) on hydrogels were compared with cells on standard cultivation surfaces. Experiments showed that hydrogels have suitable mechanical and cell adhesion capabilities, resulting in structural changes of actin filaments. Lastly, applying hydrogel for a more complex HL-1 cell line revealed improved mechanical and electrophysiological contractile properties.