Technical

Extracel™ Hydrogel Kit (7.5 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, or 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 phosophate-buffered saline (PBS) pH ~7.4.

Extracel hydrogels (7.5 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 1.0 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 0.5 mL of DG Water to the Extralink vial. Invert several times to dissolve.
  6. As soon as possible, but within four hours of making the solutions, mix equal volumes of Glycosil™ and Gelin-S™. To mix, pipette back and forth or invert the vial.
  7. If encapsulating cells, resuspend cell pellet in 2.0 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 (0.5 mL Extralink™ to 2.0 mL Glycosil + Gelin-S). The total hydrogel volume with cells is 2.5 mL.
  9. Gelation will occur within ~20 minutes.

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