Researchers demonstrate blue-light hydrogel platform for tissue models

Researchers at Tampere University reported a hydrogel platform that forms when gallic acid-modified biopolymers are exposed to blue light with riboflavin, or vitamin B2. The system incorporated proteins, DNA and RNA without requiring those molecules to be chemically modified first. In experiments, an embedded Wnt3A protein remained biologically active, and the hydrogels supported high cell viability and three-dimensional cell growth. The work was published in Cell Reports Physical Science.