Technical

Extracel-HP™ Hydrogel Kit (7.5 mL) Product Data Sheet

For research use only

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

STORAGE

Heprasil™ and Gelin-S™

  • Store Heprasil and Gelin-S in original vials unopened at -20 °C for up to one year.
  • Do not uncap the Heprasil and Gelin-S vials since both materials will crosslink in the presence of oxygen. Use a syringe and needle to add DG Water.

Extralink™

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

INSTRUCTIONS FOR USE

Heprasil, Gelin-S, and Extralink solutions are prepared by dissolving the lyophilized solids in the DG Water. When reconstituted, the three materials will be in 1x phosophate buffered saline (PBS), pH ~7.4.

Extracel-HP hydrogels (3 x 2.5mL = 7.5 mL) should be prepared in the following manner:

  1. Allow the Heprasil, Gelin-S, Extralink, and DG Water vials to come to room temperature.
  2. Under aseptic conditions, using a syringe and needle, add 1.0 mL of DG Water to the Heprasil vial. Repeat for the Gelin-S vial.
  3. Place both vials horizontally on a rocker  or shaker. It will take <30 minutes for the solids to fully dissolve. Warming to not more than 37 °C and/or gently vortexing will speed dissolution. Solutions will be clear and slightly viscous.
  4. Under aseptic conditions, using a syringe and needle, add 0.5 mL of DG Water to the Extralink vial. Invert several times to dissolve.
  5. As soon as possible, but within 2 hours of making the solutions, aseptically mix equal volumes of Heprasil and Gelin-S. To mix, pipette back and forth slowly to avoid trapping air bubbles.
  6. If adding growth factors, add the appropriate amount of sterile growth factor to the Heprasil + Gelin-S solution and pipette back and forth to mix.
  7. If encapsulating cells, resuspend cell pellet in 2.0 mL of Heprasil + Gelin-S. Pipette back and forth to mix.
  8. To form the hydrogel, add Extralink to the Heprasil + Gelin-S mix in a 1:4 volume ratio (0.5 mL Extralink to 2.0 mL Heprasil + Gelin-S) and mix by pipette.
  9. Gelation will occur within ~20 minutes.

Note: Each kit component has been manufactured under aseptic conditions and tested for bacteria and fungus.

For more information about the Extracel-HP Hydrogel Kit please go to www.glycosan.com.