Cellinteractive Gelatinbased 19f Mri Tracers An In Vitro Proofofconcept Study Kristyna Kolouchova by Kristyna Kolouchova, Ondrej Groborz, Vit Herynek, Oleg V. Petrov, Jan Lang, David Dunlop, Laurens Parmentier, Anna Szabó, David Schaubroeck, Peter Adriaensens & Sandra Van Vlierberghe instant download after payment.

Cross-linked gelatin-based hydrogels are highly promising cell-interactive, biocompatible, and biodegradable materials serving tissue engineering. Moreover, gelatins with covalently bound methacrylamide (gel-MA) and 2-aminoethyl methacrylate moieties (gel-AEMA) can be cross-linked through ultraviolet (UV) irradiation, which allows light-based three-dimensional (3D)-printing of such hydrogels. Furthermore, the physicochemical and biological properties of these hydrogels can be broadly tuned by incorporating various comonomers into the polymer chains, which makes these hydrogels a widely applicable platform in tissue engineering and reconstructive surgery. However, monitoring the degradation rate of hydrogel-based implants in vivo is challenging, thereby prohibiting their broad clinical transition and further research. Therefore, herein, we describe the synthesis of 3D-printable gelatin-based hydrogels with N-(2,2-difluoroethyl)acrylamide (DFEA), detectable with the chemical shift of −123 ppm, which enables us to monitor these implants in vivo with 19F magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and assess their degradation kinetics. Next, we describe the physicochemical and biological properties of these hydrogels. Adding DFEA monomers into the reaction mixture accelerates their cross-linking kinetics. Moreover, increasing the DFEA content within the hydrogels increases their swelling ratio and 19F MRI signal. All hydrogels were detectable at small quantities (<16 mg) using 19F MRI. Moreover, our hydrogels supported the cell proliferation of adipose tissue-derived stem cells (ASCs) and had tunable biodegradation rates. Finally, we present a strategy for increasing the DFEA content without affecting the mechanical properties. Our results may be implemented in the future development of hydrogel implants, whose fate and biodegradation rate can be monitored via 19F MRI.