Design of two complementary copolymers that work as a glue for cell-laden collagen gels

We designed two types of copolymers that play a role of "polymeric glue". They introduced surface adhesive functions to cell-laden collagen gels. The present study realised surface functionalisation of naturally derived hydrogels and suggested a novel method for manipulating living cells. This method is potentially useful for in vitro reconstruction of 3D living tissue since it enabled versatile and cytocompatible hydrogel surface modification by a simple procedure without any special equipment. This study realised cytocompatible " in situ " surface functionalization of collagen gel for adding the property of gel-to-gel adhesion.