In Situ Supramolecular Assembly and Modular Modification of Hyaluronic Acid Hydrogels for 3D Cellular Engineering

A facile In situ supramolecular assembly and modular modification of biocompatible hydrogels were demonstrated using cucurbit[6]uril-conjugated hyaluronic add (CB[6]-HA), diaminohexane-conjugated HA (DAH-HA), and tags-CB[6] for cellular engineering applications. The strong and selective host-guest interaction between (KM and DAH made possible the supramolecular assembly of CB[6]/DAH-HA hydrogels In the presence of cells. Then, the 3D environment of CB[6]/DAH-HA hydrogels was modularly modified by the simple treatment with various multifunctional tags-CB[6]. Furthermore, we could confirm in situ formation of CB[6]/DAH-HA hydrogels under the skin of nude mice by sequential subcutaneous injections of CB[6]-HA and DAH-HA solutions. The fluorescence of modularly modified fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-CB[6] In the hydrogels was maintained for up toll days, reflecting the feasibility to deliver the proper cues for cellular proliferation and differentiation In the body. Taken together, CB[6]/DAH-HA hydrogels might be successfully exploited as a 3D artificial extracellular matrix for various tissue engineering applications.