Materials and methods using Fe3+ coordination to carboxylates
AssigneeBowling Green State University
InventorsAlexis Ostrowski, Giuseppe Giammanco
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Abstract
Uronate-containing polysaccharide hydrogels that can be photo-patterned are described. The method involves forming a hydrogel and imetal-coordinating it with a reducible metallic cation and exposing the hydrogel to light in a desired pattern. The exposure to light reduces the metallic cation and results in an irreversible change in the elastic moduli and pore size of the irradiated portions of the patterned hydrogel. The method aha the benefit of allowing the user to produce such a hydrogel in any pattern desired. Patterned hydrogels and cell substrates formed by this method are also described.
Claims11
A method of creating patterns on a hydrogel, comprising the steps of:
- (i) forming a polyacrylamide-uronate-containing polysaccharide hydrogel;
- (ii) exposing the hydrogel to a Fe3+ metallic cation that can be reduced, thereby creating a metal-coordinated hydrogel;
- (iii) irradiating at least a portion of the metal-coordinated hydrogel comprising the polyacrylamide-uronate-containing polysaccharide metal-coordinated with the Fe3+ metallic cation to reduce the Fe3+ metallic cation in the irradiated portion and form a reduced metallic cation in the irradiated portion, thereby creating a patterned hydrogel having a pattern thereon defined by the irradiated portion and a non-irradiated portion of the metal-coordinated hydrogel, wherein the non-irradiated portion comprises the polyacrylamide-uronate-containing polysaccharide metal-coordinated with the Fe3+ metallic cation;
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- (iv) rinsing the patterned hydrogel to remove the reduced metallic cation;
- wherein the pattern comprises a variation in elastic moduli and pore size, wherein the irradiated portion has a reduced elastic moduli and a greater pore size than the non-irradiated portion.
A polyacrylamide-uronate-containing polysaccharide hydrogel having a first phase and a second phase, wherein in the first phase the hydrogel is non-irradiated and the polyacrylamide-uronate-containing polysaccharide is metal-coordinated with a Fe3+ metallic cation that can be reduced, and wherein in the second phase, the hydrogel has been irradiated and the the polyacrylamide-uronate-containing polysaccharide is metal-coordinated with a Fe3+ metallic cation that is in a reduced form.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.