Gelatin norbornene

Our gelatin norbornene is a functionalized natural polymer that combines the biocompatibility and biodegradability of gelatin with the click-chemistry capabilities of norbornene. By leveraging the unique properties of gelatin and modifying it with norbornene functional groups, we have developed a versatile biomaterial that offers tailored solutions for various biomedical applications.

Gelatin norbornene, characterized by primary amines serving as nucleophiles for reaction with carbic anhydride to form amide-linked norbornene, holds great promise for tissue engineering, regeneration, and stem cell culture. The highly reactive nature of norbornene groups with thiols enables light-mediated orthogonal or step growth reactions, leading to the formation of thiol-norbornene (thiol-ene) crosslinks. The resulting hydrogels exhibit faster gelation and superior cytocompatibility, making them particularly favorable for cell-based applications.

With its ability to mimic the naturally occurring extracellular matrix of tissues and the capability to create unique and tailorable gelatin scaffolds and hydrogels, gelatin norbornene stands as a game-changing solution for advancing biomedical research. Applications include:

• Studying cell motility in 3D cell culture scaffolds
• Engineering biocompatible scaffolds and hydrogels for areas such as cartilage tissue engineering, bone tissue engineering, and neural regeneration
• Creating in vitro models for studying disease, development or for use in drug screening applications
• Therapeutic drug or cell encapsulation and delivery
• Therapuetic conjugation

The nobornene funtionalized gelatin can also be used to create complex functionalized materials through the tethering of cysteine or thiol containing biomolecules such as peptides, growth factors, and other proteins.