GelMA, Explained Simply

The Use of Gelatin Methacrylate in 3D Cell Culture and Bioprinting

GelMA, or gelatin methacrylate, is a biomaterial with cell native character and extraordinary versatility across applications. That’s why GelMA has become a cornerstone biomaterial in the bioprinting and 3D cell culture field.

Labs all over the world can synthesize their own gelatin methacrylate, which creates margins of inconsistency. To address this, CELLINK provides high-quality GelMA with low batch-to-batch variation. Hundreds of labs around the globe leverage CELLINK’s lyophilizates, hydrogels and bioinks for their research.

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What is GelMA?

GelMA, or gelatin methacrylate, is a biomaterial produced from gelatin. Simply explained, gelatin itself is a natural protein derived from collagen.

In GelMA, the gelatin’s amine groups have been partially and chemically modified with methacrylate groups. This modification makes the methacrylated gelatin photocrosslinkable when combined with a photoinitiator. This is crucial for tissue engineering, as photocrosslinking facilitates the stability of printed constructs in 3D cell culture conditions.

Benefits of methacrylated gelatin

It begs repeating – GelMA is excellent due to its versatility. The main reason GelMA hydrogels have received widespread use in the biomedical field is due to its unique biological properties. These properties enable excellent cell attachment and cell proliferation of various cell types. In short, here are four key factors why researchers choose to print with gelatin methacrylate.

1. Biocompatability

The RGD sequences on the gelatin molecules, allows GelMA to promote cell adhesion and proliferation with nearly any cell type. These sequences are inherited form the collagen the material is derived from. They allow cells to adhere, proliferate and mature within the constructs.

2. Biodegradability

One aim of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine is to stimulate and improve the natural healing process of the body. It follows that bioprinted constructs for certain applications need to be biodegradable. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMP sites) in GelMA allows it to be recognized and enzymatically degraded by cells. Once native cells populate the constructs, they begin to degrade, remodel and repopulate the constructs with their own cells and tissues.

3. Tunable properties

GelMA has excellent tunable properties, meaning it’s a hydrogel that’s easily customizable by the user. This is because the degree of substitution in GelMA impacts the final stiffness of the polymer, as well as its mechanical properties (e.g., compression and tensile strength). This can be utilized to accommodate both softer and stiffer parts of the native tissue that is to be recreated. Which can help activate the biomechanical signaling of a specific microenvironment, and direct embedded cells to mature in a specific direction.

4. Bioprintability

Besides having the biological and mechanical properties to form various biologically cell culture conditions, gelatin methacrylate can also be bioprinted. GelMA has become widely used in research and business environments due to its capacity to create intricate, multi-characteristic shapes. Scientists have been utilizing bioprinting techniques to create intricate 3D structures with GelMA. This enables cells to grow in microenvironments that are more similar to in vivo conditions.

What applications can it be used for?

As covered above, GelMA has biomimetic and tunable properties as well as a high degree of printability. These qualities make it a useful biomaterial in various research areas, for both cell laden and acellular applications. Below, we list a multitude of application notes where you can discover how methacrylated gelatin can be used in various applications.

Application Notes

Below, we list a few application notes where GelMA has been used in the 3D bioprinting process.

Pneumatic bioprinting Printhead for CELLINK BIO X bioprinter in laboratory

Biofabricating Airway Epithelial Models for COVID-19 Research →​

researcher using touch screen on bio x 3D bioprinter

3D Bioprinting Skin Tissue Models Using Primary Cells →​

Comparing Drug Response in 2D Cultures and 3D Bioprinted Tumoroids →​

3D bioprinting in cellink lab

Advanced In Vitro 3D Models to Investigate iPSC Plutipotency and Capillary Network Formation of HUVECs →​

bio x to bioprint bioreactors

Biofabrication of Bioreactors with DLP and Extrusion Bioprinters →​

In Vitro 3D Lung Cancer Model Presents a More Relevant Expression of Junctional Proteins than 2D Cultures →​