A novel biomaterial for regenerative medicine: Scientists develop acellular nanocomposite living hydrogels

A biomaterial that can mimic certain behaviors within biological tissues could advance regenerative medicine, disease modeling, soft robotics and more, according to researchers at Penn State.

Materials created up to this point to mimic tissues and extracellular matrices (ECMs) – the body's biological scaffolding of proteins and molecules that surrounds and supports tissues and cells – have all had limitations that hamper their practical applications, according to the team. To overcome some of those limitations, the researchers developed a bio-based, "living" material that encompasses self-healing properties and mimics the biological response of ECMs to mechanical stress.

"We developed a cell-free – or acellular – material that dynamically mimics the behavior of ECMs, which are key building blocks of mammalian tissues that are crucial for tissue structure and cell functions," said corresponding author Amir Sheikhi, associate professor of chemical engineering and the Dorothy Foehr Huck and J. Lloyd Huck Early Career Chair in Biomaterials and Regenerative Engineering.

According to the researchers, previous iterations of their materiál – a hydrogel, or water-rich polymer network – were synthetic and lacked the desired combination of mechanical responsiveness and biological mimicry of ECMs.

The team addressed these limitations by developing acellular nanocomposite living hydrogels (LivGels) made from "hairy" nanoparticles. The nanoparticles are composed of nanocrystals, or "nLinkers," with disordered cellulose chains, or "hairs," at the ends.

Image source: Sheikhi Research Group/Penn State.