FURI | Fall 2018

Effects of Spatially and Temporally Manipulated Bioactive Signals on hMSC Behavior on NorHA Hydrogels

The objective of this project is to evaluate human mesenchymal stromal cell behavior on photopatterned norbornene-functionalized hyaluronic acid (NorHA) hydrogels. NorHA hydrogels will be synthesized and photopatterned with DNA handles to allow for the reversible tethering of RGDS and HAVDI peptides in a crosshatch pattern. It is expected that modulating the expression of these biomolecules will influence human mesenchymal stromal cell adhesion and migration. Future work will apply this work to 3D printed hydrogel structures to better mimic in vivo conditions.