3.1 Fabrication and physical properties of SilMA Hydrogel
According to the fabrication method in the manual, SilMA hydrogel was
prepared successfully and the macroscopic appearance was shown in Fig 2.
Fig 2B showed the pure SilMA with concentration of 10%. Fig 2C and 2D
was the morphology of 15% SilMA and 20% SilMA respectively after
culturing in DMEM-F12 medium for CCK-8 test. From the side, the color
changes of the hydrogel reflect the capacity of water absorption, which
can affect the adhesion and growth of the cells. Furthermore, the
swelling and degradability of SilMA was shown in Fig 3. Fig 3A and 3D
represent the data of pure SilMA, while Fig 3B and 3E represent the
freeze-dried
SilMA. With the increase of the concentration, the swelling ratio of
SilMA decreased, and the degradation progress slowed down. After drying,
the moisture is removed. Whether swelling or degradation experiment, it
must firstly go through a process of water absorption. As a result, the
swelling ratio of freeze-dried SilMA were several times than the pure
SilMA, also the degradation would be further slowed down.