Changes in biophysical properties of collagen hydrogels by pH for tumor modeling
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Date
2024-05
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The Ohio State University
Abstract
The role the extracellular matrix (ECM) plays in cancer invasion and metastasis is not well defined and has become a central focus of cancer researchers. Collagen-based hydrogels have been primarily used to reconstruct the ECM for cancer studies as they recreate a 3-D model representative of native tissue observed in vivo. However, due to the heterogeneity of solid tumors (such as breast cancer), this has made our ability to recapitulate tumor microenvironments (TME) difficult. This set of studies aimed to use gelation-pH of collagen-based hydrogel systems as a mechanism to manipulate the biophysical properties of the in vitro models. Through changes in gelation-pH, we achieved a two fold increase in stiffness from acidic to basic conditions. In addition, collagen polymerization dynamics were distinctly different based on gelation-pH. The ECM characterization methods elucidate the importance of gelation-pH on the biophysical properties of the in vitro models and provides a manner to represent a wide range of tissues from the body. Future studies will look to correlate the current stiffness and polymerization kinetic results with the microarchitecture of the hydrogels to better understand the biological phenomenon within these models.
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Keywords
pH, Scaffold, Extracellular matrix, Stiffness, Turbidity