Soft hydrazone crosslinked hyaluronan- and alginate-based hydrogels as 3D supportive matrices for human pluripotent stem cell-derived neuronal cells

Regenerative medicine, especially cell therapy combined with a supportive biomaterial scaffold, is considered to be a potential treatment for various deficits in humans. Here, we have produced and investigated the detailed properties of injectable hydrazone crosslinked hyaluronan-polyvinyl alcohol (HA-PVA) and alginate-polyvinyl alcohol (AL-PVA) hydrogels to be used as a supportive biomaterial for 3D neural cell cultures. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time the polymerization and properties of hydrazone crosslinked AL-PVA hydrogel have been reported. The effect of the degree of substitution and molecular weight of the polymer components as well as the polymer concentration of the hydrogel on the swelling, degradation and mechanical properties of the hydrogels is reported. Furthermore, we studied the effect of the above parameters on the growth of human pluripotent stem cell-derived neuronal cells. The most neural cell supportive HA-PVA hydrogel was composed of high molecular weight HA component with brain-mimicking mechanical properties and decreased polymer concentration. AL-PVA hydrogel, with stiffness quite similar to brain tissue, was also shown to be similarly supportive. Neuronal spreading and 3D network formation was enhanced inside the softest hydrogels.