Fine tuning and measurement of mechanical properties of crosslinked hyaluronic acid hydrogels as biomimetic scaffold coating in regenerative medicine

Chemically crosslinked hyaluronic acid hydrogels are synthesized with a homogeneous crosslinking process using divinyl sulfone (DVS) as crosslinking agent. Testing different conditions, in terms of both DVS content and curing time, we aim to keep control over the crosslinking process in order to prepare biocompatible hydrogels with mechanical properties closely approximating those of extracellular matrix (ECM) of natural stem cells niches (0.1÷50kPa). The hydrogels properties are evaluated through a reliable methodology based on three independent techniques: dynamic rheological analysis, used as benchmark method; swelling experiments following the Flory-Rehner theory and atomic force microscope (AFM) nanoindentation experiments. Our results demonstrate that controlling crosslinking parameters it is possible to design hydrogels with desired elastic moduli values. HA hydrogels can be ideal coating materials to be implemented in regenerative medicine and particularly in the engineering of ECM niches in vitro.