A Self-Sustaining Hydrogels with Autonomous Supply of Nutrients and Bioactive Domains for 3D Cell Culture

Photo-crosslinkable platelet lysate (PL)-based hydrogels have been proven to support human-derived cell cultures owing to their high content of bioactive molecules, such as cytokines and growth factors. As a unique self-maintained and biocompatible 3D scaffold, the recently reported self-feeding hydrogels with enzyme-empowered degradation capacity have shown high biological performance in vitro and in vivo. To take advantage of all features of both PL and self-feeding hydrogels, here UV responsive laminaran-methacrylate (LamMA) and PL-methacrylate (PLMA) derivatives plus glucoamylase (GA), which significantly improve the overall features of a 3D system, is coupled. This self-sustaining hybrid hydrogel emerges as a unique scaffold due to the sustained delivery of glucose produced via enzymatic degradation of laminaran while granting the release of growth factors through the presence of PL. This biomaterial is applied to fabricate high-throughput freestanding microgels with controlled geometric shapes. Furthermore, this multicomponent hybrid hydrogel is successfully implemented as the first reported glucose supplier bioink to manufacture intricate and precisely defined cell-laden structures using a support matrix. Finally, such hydrogels are utilized as a proof of concept to serve as 3D in vitro cancer models, with the aim of recapitulating the tumor microenvironment.