Thermoresponsive Hydrogels as Microniches for the Growth and Controlled Release of Pluripotent Stem Cells and Preparation Method Thereof

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This invention presents a thermoresponsive hydrogel composed of dendritic polyglycerol and poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-co-polyethylene glycol units, linked via specialized moieties (cyclic triazol or diazacyclohexadiene). This hydrogel forms a biocompatible, three-dimensional (3D) artificial microniche that allows for efficient growth, expansion, and gentle, temperature-controlled harvesting of sensitive cells — especially induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). The controlled release mechanism works merely by adjusting the temperature, avoiding harsh chemical or enzymatic treatments that might damage the cells.

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• Large-scale, high-quality expansion of iPSCs for regenerative medicine applications.
• Production of clinical-grade pluripotent stem cells for cell therapy and transplantation.
• 3D cell culture models for drug screening and disease modeling requiring controlled cell harvest.
• Research platforms for studying stem cell biology in a biomimetic 3D environment.
• Manufacturing of biocompatible scaffolds for tissue engineering and regenerative therapies.

BenefitsContent extracted from patent full text and abstract with AI.

• Supports efficient, high-viability, and rapid expansion of sensitive iPSCs with maintained pluripotency.
• Simple, non-damaging, controlled release of cultivated cells by temperature change — no need for chemical, enzymatic, or mechanical cell harvesting.
• Fully defined, synthetic, and biocompatible system reducing batch variability and risk of pathogen contamination compared to animal-derived matrices.
• Allows optimization of physical and biochemical culturing parameters (e.g., stiffness, cell attachment signals) to mimic natural environments and enhance cell quality.
• Enables scalable cell production at lower cost due to cheap starting materials and efficient process.
• Applicable for downstream biomedical applications (clinical, research, drug discovery) with improved process reliability and safety.

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Patent Abstract

The present invention relates to a thermoresponsive hydrogel, comprising dendritic polyglycerol units and poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-co-polyethylene glycol units that are covalently bound to each other via a linker, wherein the linker is chosen from the group consisting of a cyclic triazol moiety and a diazacyclohexadiene moiety. This thermoresponsive hydrogel serves as microniche environment for the robust cultivation of cells such as induced pluripotent stem cells. The thermoresponsive hydrogel has a specific thermoreversible degradation capability enabling a controlled release of the expanded cells by only changing the temperature. This dramatically simplifies the process of cell harvesting.