HyStem™

Information Pages

General Information
Applications
Volume and Composition
References

Data Sheets

7.5 mL Kit
Trial Kit

MSDS

Extralink
HyStem

Purchase

7.5 ml Hydrogel Kit
Trial 2.5 ml Kit

HyStem is recommended for applications requiring attachment factor optimization. Extracellular matrix proteins can be mixed into the hydrogel and incorporated non-covalently before gelation. Alternatively, attachment peptides having an N-terminal cysteine can also be covalently linked to the matrix³.

The HyStem Hydrogel Kits are optimal for culturing stem cells whose natural environment is rich in hyaluronic acid (HA). It is xeno-free since its two components are thiol-modified hyaluronan (HyStem™) and a thiol-reactive crosslinker (polyethylene glycol diacrylate, Extralink™)¹. HyStem can be customized by adding extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins² or cell attachment peptides³ into the hydrogel to provide attachment site and/or differentiation signals. They can also be varied by changing the hydrogel rigidity⁴ to match that of the native cell environment.

Animal-free HyStem

The hyaluronic acid used to produce HyStem™ is made by a proprietary bacterial-fermentation process using bacillus subtilis (Novozymes). It is 100% free of animal-derived raw materials and no animal-derived ingredients are used in its production. Extralink (polyethylene glycol diacrylate) is made by adding acrylate groups to both ends of a polyethylene glycol (PEG) polymer. PEG is derived from petroleum and inorganic sources and contains no animal source materials.

Gelation

The reconstituted HyStem components are liquids at 15-37 ˚C. The hydrogel is formed when the crosslinking agent, Extralink™, is added to the HyStem liquid. Once the two components are mixed, gelation occurs in less than 20 minutes. There are no low temperature or low pH steps. The gelation time can be increased by diluting the components with phosphate buffered saline (PBS) or cell culture media.

Flexibility

HyStem gives the researcher complete control over:

• hydrogel rigidity
• amount and type of ECM protein incorporated
• cell attachment peptide incorporation
• cell encapsulation or plating on top of hydrogel
• cell growth format (96- to 6-well plates and/or tissue culture inserts)

3D Cell Recovery Matrix

The HyStem Hydrogel is also available with a novel crosslinker which enables the gel to be broken down for easy encapsulated cell recovery. At checkout simply select PEGSSDA as your crosslinker.