HyStem™

HyStem™ Vials

HyStem is thiol-modified hyaluronic acid (HA) and is a component of the HyStem hydrogel kit. HA is a glycosaminoglycan and a major constituent of the extracellular matrix (ECM). Cells can be encapsulated in HyStem; however, cells do not attach to HyStem-only hydrogels¹. For applications where cell attachment is required, HyStem can be used in conjunction with ECM proteins such as laminin, collagen, or fibronectin². HyStem can be purchased in two formats: a 7.5 ml kit, which includes 6 – 1 ml vials of HyStem and 3 – 0.5 ml vials of Extralink, or as individual 1 ml vials.

Gelation

Reconstituted HyStem remains liquid at 15 to 37°C. Without crosslinker, HyStem will form a hydrogel via disulfide bond formation; however, the gelation time is over twenty-four hours. The rate of disulfide bond formation is highly dependent upon the solution pH and the amount of oxygen present. If Extralink™ is used to crosslink HyStem, the gelation time is about twenty minutes with no low-temperature or low-pH steps. Diluting HyStem with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) or cell-culture medium can increase its gelation time.

Volume

HyStem vials come as a 1 ml aliquot only.

Hyaluronic Acid Source

The hyaluronic acid used to produce Glycosil™ and HyStem™ is made by a proprietary bacterial-fermentation process using bacillus subtilis as the host in an ISO 9001:2000 process www.biopolymer.novozymes.com. It is produced by Novozymes under the trade name HyaCare® and is 100% free of animal-derived raw materials and organic solvents remnants. No animal-derived ingredients are used in its production and it has very low protein levels and no exotoxins. Its production follows the European Pharmacopoeia.

References