Cytocompatible, Photoreversible, and Self-Healing Hydrogels for Regulating Bone Marrow Stromal Cell Differentiation

Photo‐crosslinking and self‐healing have received considerable attention for the design of intelligent materials. A novel photostimulated, self‐healing, and cytocompatible hydrogel system is reported. A coumarin methacrylate crosslinker is synthesized to modify the polyacrylamide‐based hydrogels. With the [2+2] cyclo‐addition of coumarin moieties, the hydrogels exhibit excellent self‐healing capacity when they are exposed to light with wavelengths at 280 and 365 nm, respectively. To enhance cell compatibility, a poly (amidoamine) crosslinker is also synthesized. Variations in light exposure times and irradiation wavelengths are found to alter the self‐healing property of the hydrogels. The hydrogels are shown to induce a regular cellular pattern. The hydrogels are used to regulate bone marrow stromal cells differentiation. The relative mRNA expressions are recorded to monitor the osteogenic differentiation of the cells. Novel photostimulated self‐healing and biocompatible polyacrylamide hydrogels are reported. A coumarin crosslinker endows superb self‐healing capacity upon exposure to 280 and 365 nm light. A polyamidoamine crosslinker enhances cell compatibility. The hydrogels induce a regular cellular pattern and regulate osteogenic differentiation of bone marrow stromal cell.