Synthetic Hydrogels as Substrata for Cell Adhesion Studies

Synthetic polymer hydrogels have many proven and potential biomedical applications as wound coverings, drug delivery systems, surgical prostheses, contact lenses and in extracorporeal circuitry. Their success in long‐term contact with biological fluids and cellular tissue depends upon their interfacial properties in such environments, and in turn, upon their physical and chemical nature. One approach to defining requirements for interfacial events at polymer surfaces in vivo is to investigate cell adhesion behaviour on these materials in culture, and to correlate this behaviour with polymer structure and theories of in vivo biocompatibility. At the same time, polymer hydrogels provide the opportunity to extend existing cell culture systems for the study of environmental cues for cell behaviour under normal and pathological circumstances.