PEGDA
Glycosan BioSystems sells PEGDA under the brand name Extralink™.
Extralink is polyethylene glycol diacrylate (PEGDA) with a molecular weight of 3400 Da. It is a thiol-reactive crosslinker that covalently reacts with the thiol groups in Glycosil™, Heprasil™ and Gelin-S™ to form viscoelastic hydrogels1. Extralink is lyophilized in what becomes a 1x PBS solution when reconstituted according to instructions. Additionally, Extralink is bottled in sterile vials and sterile filtered prior to lyophilization.
Gelation
Extralink is used to chemically crosslink Glycosil, Heprasil and Gelin-S. The gelation time ranges from as short as 5 minutes to as long as a couple of hours, depending upon the amount of Extralink used and the concentration/dilution of the Glycosil, Gelin-S and/or Heprasil. While we use thiol chemistry to crosslink our hydrogels, other researchers have used photointitiators such as Darocur 1173. This process adds an extra level of complexity; however, as many photointitiators are toxic to cells and the UV light used to crosslink the hydrogels can damage cells.
Volumes
Extralink vials come in two sizes: 0.5 ml and 2.5 ml and are used with our kits.
Bulk PEGDA can be purchased in quantities of:
- 1 gram
- 5 grams
- 10 grams
All orders above 10 grams qualify for bulk discount pricing. While our Extralink is sterile and bottled in a 1x PBS solution, bulk PEGDA is shipped as a non-sterile lyophilized solid with no salts present.
Uses of PEGDA
PEGDA has been used extensively with cells and has shown excellent biocompatibility. Because PEGDA is easy to use, non-toxic, and cytocompatible, it is used by tissue engineers as a hydrogel crosslinker and scaffold.
Structure of PEGDA
References
- X.Z. Shu, S. Ahmad, Y. Liu, and G.D. Prestwich, “Synthesis and Evaluation of Injectable, in situ Crosslinkable Synthetic Extracellular Matrices (sECMs) for Tissue Engineering,” J. Biomed Mater. Res. A, 79A(4), 901-912 (2006).