Fluorescent hydrogels are polymer materials with adjustable fluorescent colors, widely applied in research fields such as 3D printing, biosensing, disease diagnosis, fluorescent tracing, and bionic actuation.

Gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA), known for its good biocompatibility and visible light curing properties, has been widely used in research areas such as cell culture, biological 3D printing and tissue engineering. The GelMA product from the EFL team (EFL-GM series) has advantages such as stable batch production and professional supporting services. Since its launch, it has served thousands of research groups in Harvard, Cambridge, MIT, Hong Kong University, Tsinghua University, Peking University, Zhejiang University, Jiaotong University and other domestic and foreign universities.

The fluorescent GelMA (EFL-GM-RF/GF/BF series) has a specific fluorescent color by "grafting" different fluorescent molecules onto GelMA. The fluorescent GelMA from EFL team retains the excellent properties of GelMA, overcoming the drawbacks of fluorescent molecules easily diffusing out of the system as seen in methods like physical mixing or electrostatic adsorption. It also avoids the disadvantage of uneven imaging caused by fluorescent microparticles.

Item

Application

material tracing, in vivo and in vitro fluorescence imaging, cell culture, coating, biological 3D printing, tissue engineering, etc.

Storage

Room temperature, 3 months; 4℃, 12 months; -20℃, 18 months.

Physicochemical property

Fig 1 shows the properties of the fluorescent GelMA and GelMA. Fluorescent GelMA has three different fluorescence signals: blue (495 nm), green (568 nm), and red (618 nm), which can maximally meet the needs of researchers. Meanwhile, rheological tests indicate that the fluorescent GelMA retains the excellent characteristics of GelMA. Fig 2 shows the imaging comparison between fluorescent GelMA and GelMA mixed with fluorescent microspheres. The imaging of the fluorescent GelMA is uniform and continuous, whereas GelMA mixed with fluorescent microspheres exhibits visible particulate matter. Fig 3 shows the diffusion comparison between the fluorescent GelMA and GelMA mixed fluorescent molecules. GelMA mixed fluorescent molecules is prone to diffusion, while the fluorescent GelMA can maintain its fluorescent properties for a long time.

Fluorescence spectrum and rheological property

Fig 1. Fluorescence spectrum and rheological property: (A,B) UV absorption and fluorescence emission data of three fluorescent GelMA; 

(C,D) photocrosslinking process and storage modulus G’ after curing of fluorescent GelMA and GelMA

Fluorescence image

Fig 2. Imaging comparison between fluorescent GelMA and GelMA mixed with fluorescent microspheres.

Fluorescence diffusion

Fig 3. Diffusion comparison between the fluorescent GelMA and GelMA mixed fluorescent molecules.

Biocompatibility

Fig 4 shows the growth state of stem cells and endothelial cells cultured with fluorescent GelMA and GelMA on day 5. Fluorescent GelMA has the same excellent biocompatibility as GelMA.

Fig 4. Biocompatibility of the fluorescent GelMA and GelMA.

3D printing performance

At present, GelMA has become a star in bio-3D printing inks, and the fluorescent GelMA can make the characterization of printed structures more clear and stable. The fluorescent GelMA from EFL team can be applied to all kinds of bio-3D printers. The following figure shows the structure printed by the EFL-BP series bio-3D printer with the fluorescent GelMA.

Fig 5. 3D printing with Fluorescent GelMA