A Single-Step Self-Assembly Approach for the Fabrication of Aligned and Multilayered Three-Dimensional Tissue Constructs Using Multidomain Peptide Hydrogel

Hydrogels are homogenous materials that are limited in their ability to form oriented multilayered architecture in three-dimensional (3D) tissue constructs. Current techniques have led to advancements in this area. Such techniques often require extra devices and/or involve complex processes that are inaccessible to many laboratories. Here is described a one-step methodology that permits reliable alignment of cells into multiple layers using a self-assembling multidomain peptide (MDP) hydrogels. We characterized the structural features, viability, and molecular properties of dental pulp cells fabricated with MDP and demonstrated that manipulation of the layering of cells in the scaffolds was achieved by decreasing the weight by volume percentage (w/v%) of MDP contained within the scaffold. This approach allows cells to remodel their environment and enhanced various gene expression profiles, such as cell proliferation, angiogenesis, and extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling-related genes. We further validated our approach for constructing various architectural configurations of tissues by fabricating cells into stratified multilayered and tubular structures. Our methodology provides a simple, rapid way to generate 3D tissue constructs with multilayered architectures. This method shows great potential to mimic in vivo microenvironments for cells and may be of benefit in modeling more complex tissues in the field of regenerative medicine.