The gel is formed by stable thioether bonds between thiol groups on PEG non cell-degradable crosslinker and thio-reactive groups on SLO-PVA. The polymer, SLO-PVA is functionalized with thiol-reactive groups which react with crosslinker at slower rate than maleimides in FAST-PVA. SLO-PVA does not have sites for cell attachment, but it can be customized to conjugate RGD peptide using TrueGel3D RGD peptide (TRUERGD-1EA) prior to the crosslinking step.

TRUE9-1KT is used to generate hydrogels of different stiffness (0.15 to 5 KPa shear modulus) to mimic in-vivo conditions and to investigate the effect of matrix stiffness on cell physiology and behavior.SLO-PVA based gels are used to grow cells that do not need attachment to hydrogel for survival but rather use their secreted extracellular matrix. The SLO-PVA based hydrogels are preferred over dextran-based gels for long-term culture of cells producing carbohydrate degrading enzymes. TrueGel3DTM Hydrogel Kits has been used in the generation of 3D gel based tumor models.

TRUE9-1KT contains SLO-PVA solution in phosphate buffer and lyophilized PEG non cell-degradable crosslinker with reconstitution buffer and water.

Avoid prolong exposure of PEG non cell-degradable crosslinker to air and store SLO-PVA in small portions to avoid frequent freeze-thaw cycles.