| dc.description.abstract | Tissue engineering is an interdisciplinary field that aims to restore, maintain, or improve tissue function. Cells are incorporated into a scaffold that acts as a niche for the cells while they proliferate and differentiate into a specific cell type. Scaffold properties, such as mesh size and stiffness, have been demonstrated to impact cell behavior. However, since these properties are interdependent, identification of isolated scaffold effects on cell behavior has been proven to be difficult. For instance, an increase in molecular weight of a highly acrylated poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylated (PEGDA) results in an increase in the mesh and a decrease in the modulus of the resultant hydrogel. Due to this, attribution of expression of a specific cell type on a single parameter is complex. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that varying the acrylation of monomer, utilizing different photoinitiators, or incorporating a tetra-acrylated species could lead to formulations in which scaffold modulus and mesh size could be independently studied. Formulations that demonstrate uncoupled mechanical and mesh properties will be selected for future cell studies to understand the influence of scaffold modulus and mesh size on cell behavior. | en |
