Technical

Extracel™ Hydrogel Kit (12.5 mL) Product Data Sheet

For research use only

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

The Extracel Hydrogel Kit is composed of Glycosil™ (CMHA-S, thiol-modified hyaluronic acid), Gelin-S™ (Gtn-DTPH, thiol-modified gelatin), Extralink™ (PEGDA, polyethylene glycol diacrylate), and degassed, deionized water (DG Water). Solutions of Glycosil and Gelin-S form a transparent hydrogel when mixed with Extralink. All lyophilized solids are blanketed by argon and under a slight vacuum.

STORAGE

Glycosil and Gelin-S
  • Store Glycosil and Gelin-S in original vials at -20 °C for up to one year.
  • Solutions can be stored at -20 ˚C for ~ one month if they are frozen immediately after reconstitution in their original argon blanketed vials.
    • Do not mix Glycosil and Gelin-S prior to freezing.
    • Freeze/thaw solutions a minimum number of times for best results.
    • Solutions should be thawed at 37 °C on a rocker and used immediately after thawing.
    • During thawing, solutions go through a “gel-like” phase before returning to their liquid state.
  • Do not uncap the Glycosil and Gelin-S vials since both materials disulfide crosslink in the presence of oxygen. Use a syringe to add DG Water and remove product from the vials.

Extralink                                   

  • Store Extralink in the original vial at -20 °C for up to one year.
  • Reconstituted solutions can be stored at -20 ˚C for ~ one month.

Instructions for Use

Glycosil, Gelin-S and Extralink solutions are prepared by dissolving the lyophilized solids in the DG Water. When reconstituted, they will be in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) buffer pH ~7.4.

Extracel hydrogels (12.5 mL) should be prepared in the following manner:

  1. Remove Glycosil, Gelin-S and Extralink vials from the -20 ˚C freezer and heat them to 37 ˚C (~30 minutes).
  2. Remove the DG Water from the -20 ˚C freezer and thaw in a 37 ˚C water bath (~15 minutes).
  3. Under aseptic conditions and using a syringe with the exact amount of liquid, add 5.0 mL of DG Water to the Glycosil vial. Repeat for the Gelin-S vial.
  4. Place both vials horizontally on a rocker at 37 ˚C (for maximum mixing). It will take <30 minutes for the solids to fully dissolve. Solutions will be clear and slightly viscous. Note: vigorous shaking will speed up dissolving time.
  5. Under aseptic conditions and using a syringe with the exact amount of liquid, add 2.5 mL of DG Water to the Extralink vial. Invert several times to dissolve.
  6. As soon as possible, but within 4 hours of making the solutions, mix equal volumes of Glycosil and Gelin-S. To mix, pipette back and forth gently or invert the vial.
  7. If encapsulating cells, resuspend cells in 10.0 mL of Glycosil + Gelin-S. Pipette back and forth to mix.
  8. To form the hydrogel, add Extralink to the Glycosil + Gelin-S mix in a 1:4 volume ratio (2.5 mL Extralink to 10.0 mL Glycosil + Gelin-S). The total hydrogel volume with cells is 12.5 mL.
  9. Gelation will occur within ~20 minutes.

Note: Each kit component has been tested and shows no evidence of bacteria growth.