Thermo-responsive properties of methylcellulose hydrogels for cell sheet engineering

Methylcellulose (MC) hydrogels change their affinity to water depending on their temperature and can thus be used as substrates for cell sheet engineering. In this work, we characterize the thermo-responsive properties of 8% w/v MC hydrogels, produced in two saline solutions (i.e., Na2SO4 and phosphate buffered saline) at different concentrations, by investigating the rheological properties and the UV-absorbance in function of temperature. Both rheological and UV-spectroscopy tests showed that the addition of salts to MC hydrogels allowed lowering the LCST of the MC hydrogel; moreover, hydrogels produced in 0.1 M Na2SO4 or PBS 20 g/L were proved to be particularly promising for cell sheet engineering application, showing a LCST below 37 degrees C.