Nonswelling, Ultralow Content Inverse Electron-Demand Diels–Alder Hyaluronan Hydrogels with Tunable Gelation Time: Synthesis and In Vitro Evaluation

Hyaluronan (HA) is a major component of the extracellular matrix and is particularly attractive for cell-based assays; yet, common crosslinking strategies of HA hydrogels are not fully tunable and bioorthogonal, and result in gels subject to swelling, which affects their physicochemical properties. To overcome these limitations, HA hydrogels based on the inverse electron-demand Diels–Alder (IEDDA) “click” reaction are designed. By crosslinking two modified HA components together, as opposed to using telechelic components, tunable gelation times as fast as 4.4 ± 0.4 min and as slow as 46.2 ± 1.8 min are achieved for facile use. By optimizing HA molar mass, ultralow polymer content hydrogels of 0.5% (w/v), resulting in minimal (<3–5% mass variation) to nonswelling (<1%), transparent and biodegradable hydrogels are synthesized. To demonstrate their versatility, the newly designed hydrogels are tested as matrices for 3D cell culture and retinal explant imaging where transparency is important. IEDDA hydrogels are cytocompatible with primary photoreceptors and enable multiphoton imaging of embedded retinal explants for double the time (>38 h) than agarose thermogels (<20 h). IEDDA HA hydrogels constitute a new hydrogel platform. They have low polymer content, tunable gelation time, and are stable, thereby making them suitable for a diversity of applications.