hydrogels. A thin fibrous capsule was found to surround both types
of gels 1 week after injection. H&E staining revealed a very thin
capsule of collagen and fibroblasts surrounding the material
throughout the duration of the study with minimal inflammation
(Fig. 5). At 1 month, the ionically crosslinked gels were seen to lose
structural integrity and allowed for infiltration of fibroblasts and
immune cells into the gel, while the click crosslinked samples
showed no evidence of breakdown nor cell infiltration into the material for up to 2 months (see Fig. S-2), and maintained a thin
layer of fibroblasts surrounding the gel.