Polyaspartamide-based Crosslinker For Controlling The Mechanical Properties Of Hydrogels

Abstract

Hydrogels are widely used as cell-culture platforms for various biotechnology applications. To tailor to specific needs, various modification strategies are employed to tune their properties. Herein, a multifunctional polymeric crosslinker based on polyaspartamide is developed, which allows for the adjustment of the type and number of reactive functional groups to fit different reaction schemes and control the mechanical properties of the hydrogels. The amine-based nucleophiles containing desired functional groups are reacted with polysuccinimide to synthesize polyaspartamide crosslinkers. The crosslinking density and the concurrent change in mechanical and properties of the resulting hydrogels are controlled in a wide range only with the degree of substitution. Furthermore, the polyaspartamide crosslinker linked with cell-recognition molecules via the same conjugation mechanism (i.e. nucleophilic substitution) render the hydrogels cell responsive without having to additional processing steps. This polyaspartamide-based crosslinker is expected to provide an efficient and versatile route to engineer hydrogels with controllable properties for biomedical applications.