Abstract
Biodegradable cellular and acellular scaffolds have great potential to regenerate damaged tissues or organs by creating a proper extracellular matrix (ECM) capable of recruiting endogenous cells to support cellular ingrowth. However, since hydrogel-based scaffolds normally degrade through surface erosion, cell migration and ingrowth into scaffolds might be inhibited early in the implantation. This could result in insufficient de novo tissue formation in the injured area. To address these challenges, continuous and microsized strand-like networks could be incorporated into scaffolds to guide and recruit endogenous cells in rapid manner. Fabrication of such microarchitectures in scaffolds is often a laborious and time-consuming process and could compromise the structural integrity of the scaffold or impact cell viability. Here, we have developed a fast single-step approach to fabricate colloidal hydrogels, which are made up of randomly packed human serum albumin-based photo-cross-linkable microparticles with continuous internal networks of microscale voids. The human serum albumin conjugated with methacrylic groups were assembled to microsized aggregates for achieving unique porous structures inside the colloidal gels. The albumin hydrogels showed tunable mechanical properties such as elastic modulus, porosity, and biodegradability, providing a suitable ECM for various cells such as cardiomyoblasts and endothelial cells. In addition, the encapsulated cells within the hydrogel showed improved cell retention and increased survivability in vitro. Microporous structures of the colloidal gels can serve as a guide for the infiltration of host cells upon implantation, achieving rapid recruitment of hematopoietic cells and, ultimately, enhancing the tissue regeneration capacity of implanted scaffolds.