the bioorthogonal click reaction reported here [19,21,39]. The
simplicity of this crosslinking modality provides the opportunity to
control the mechanical properties of the click alginate hydrogel by
adjusting the ratio of the polymers, rather than changing the total
concentration of polymers in the system. This could potentially
allow for the decoupling of material variables such as gel architecture,
stiffness, and ligand density in further applications of click
alginate hydrogels.
Click crosslinked alginate hydrogels were used to form a cytocompatible
2D cell culture substrate that can be modified to display
cell adhesion peptides at varying concentrations. Alginate hydrogels
must display cell adhesive ligands in order for mammalian cells
to attach, spread, and proliferate on the surface of the hydrogel.
Without ligands such as RGD presented from the hydrogel surface,
few cells will attach, and those that do will retain a spherical