3d differentiation of neural stem cells in macroporous photopolymerizable hydrogel scaffolds3 d的神经干细胞分化大孔photopolymerizable水凝胶支架.pdfVIP

3D Differentiation of Neural Stem Cells in Macroporous Photopolymerizable Hydrogel Scaffolds Hang Li, Asanka Wijekoon, Nic D. Leipzig* Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The University of Akron, Akron, Ohio, United States of America Abstract Neural stem/progenitor cells (NSPCs) are the stem cell of the adult central nervous system (CNS). These cells are able to differentiate into the major cell types found in the CNS (neurons, oligodendrocytes, astrocytes), thus NSPCs are the mechanism by which the adult CNS could potentially regenerate after injury or disorder. Microenviromental factors are critical for guiding NSPC differentiation and are thus important for neural tissue engineering. In this study, D-mannitol crystals were mixed with photocrosslinkable methacrylamide chitosan (MAC) as a porogen to enhance pore size during hydrogel formation. D-mannitol was admixed to MAC at 5, 10 and 20 wt% D-mannitol per total initial hydrogel weight. D- mannitol crystals were observed to dissolve and leave the scaffold within 1 hr. Quantification of resulting average pore sizes showed that D-mannitol addition resulted in larger average pore size (5 wt%, 4060 6160 2 2 mm , 10 wt%, 6330 61160 mm , 2 2 20 wt%, 760061550 mm ) compared with controls (0 wt%, 3150 6220 mm ). Oxygen diffusion studies demonstrated that larger average pore area resulted in enhanced oxygen diffusion through scaffolds. Finally, the differentiation responses of NSPCs to phenotypic differentiation conditions were studied for neurons, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes in hydrogels of