In the present work, we investigated the potential of novel semi-interpenetrating
polymer network (semi-IPN)
cryogels, obtained through ultraviolet exposure of aqueous mixtures of
poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate and
type I collagen, as tunable off-the-shelf platforms for 3D
cancer cell research. We synthesized semi-IPN
cryogels with variable
collagen amounts (0.1% and 1% w/v) and assessed the effect of
collagen on key
cryogel properties for cell culture, for example, porosity, degradation rate and mechanical stiffness. Then, we investigated the ability of the
cryogels to sustain the long-term growth of two pancreatic ductal
adenocarcinoma (PDAC) cell populations, the parenchymal Panc1 cells and their derived cancer stem cells. Results revealed that both cell lines efficiently infiltrated, attached and expanded in the
cryogels over a period of 14 days. However, only when grown in the
cryogels with the highest
collagen concentration, both cell lines reproduced their characteristic growth pattern previously observed in
collagen-enriched organotypic cultures, biomimetic of the highly fibrotic PDAC stroma. Cellular preembedding in
Matrigel, that is, the classical approach to develop/grow organoids, interfered with an efficient intra-scaffold migration and growth. Although preliminary, these findings highlight the potential of the proposed
cryogels as reproducible and tunable
cancer cell research platforms.