UV Dose Governs UV-Polymerized Polyacrylamide Hydrogel Modulus

Figure 6

Cell morphology after 24 h of culture on collagen-coated UV-polymerized A12-B.25 PAA hydrogels. (a) Phase contrast images of MDA-MB-231 cells seeded onto PAA gels of equal dose, but with different exposure times and UV intensity. The “↑ Int ↓ Exp” condition had an intensity of 67 mW/cm² and exposure time of 119 s. The “↓ Int ↑ Exp” condition had an intensity of 15 mW/cm² and exposure time of 524 s. (b) No significant differences were found in the spreading area of MDA-MB-231 cells seeded onto PAA gels of equal dose (8 mJ/cm²), but with different exposure time and UV intensity (same as in (a)). Scale bar represents 100 µm.

(a)

(b)