Extracel-SS™ Hydrogel Kit
Extracel-SS™ allows gentle and quick recovery of encapsulated cells in 3-D cultures while providing all the benefits of Extracel. Extracel-SS uses a novel crosslinker, PEGSSDA, which allows for liquefaction of the Extracel hydrogel using only small amounts of reducing agent.
Gelation and Dissulotion
Reconstituted Extracel-SS™ components remain liquid at 15 to 37°C. The hydrogel is formed when the crosslinking agent, PEGSSDA is added to a mixture of Glycosil™ (thiol-modified hyaluronan) and Gelin-S™ (thiol-modified gelatin). Gelation occurs in about twenty minutes after all three components are mixed. No steps depend on low temperatures or low pH. Diluting the components with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) or cell-culture medium can increase the gelation time. The resulting hydrogel can be disolved in 40ml of acetyl-L-cysteine (reducing agent) in less than 2 hours at 37°C.
Flexibility
Extracel-SS™ allows customization of experiments:
- dimensionality (3-D encapsulation or 2-D plating on top of hydrogel)
- cell-growth format (96- to 6-well plates and/or tissue-culture inserts)
- amount and type of ECM protein incorporated
- hydrogel stiffness