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.