AccScience Publishing / GTM / Online First / DOI: 10.36922/gtm.5897
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ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE

Optimization of gelatin-based cell carriers for tooth-germ organoids

Anisha Jackson1 ,  Cemile Bektas1 ,  Yong Mao1*
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1 Laboratory for Biomaterials Research, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey, United States of America
Global Translational Medicine, 5897 https://doi.org/10.36922/gtm.5897
Submitted: 13 November 2024 | Revised: 24 December 2024 | Accepted: 25 December 2024 | Published: 16 January 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soft and Hard Tissues Reconstruction in Dentistry)
© 2025 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
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Abstract

Tooth loss is a widespread condition that significantly impacts quality of life, and effective functional treatments remain limited. Research in regenerative technologies is advancing toward solutions that are functional, customizable, and biologically integrative. Tooth-germ organoids – three-dimensional constructs cultured in vitro – hold promise for developing functional dental tissues. Hydrogel microparticles, selected for their structural support, resemblance to the natural extracellular matrix, and moldability, serve as carriers and scaffolds for organoid culture. Methacrylate gelatin microspheres (GelMA MS) have previously been identified as suitable scaffolds for dental organoids, as they support the composition of multiple cell types necessary for forming functional dental tissue. However, producing GelMA MS at a scale sufficient for tooth-organoid research is time-consuming and suffers from limited reproducibility. This study aims to develop alternative gelatin-based carriers with simpler, more reproducible fabrication processes that provide equal or enhanced support for tooth-germ organoid formation. Two alternative carriers – gelatin microspheres (Gel MS) and micronized photo-crosslinked GelMA microparticles (GelMA MP) – were evaluated in comparison to GelMA MS and GelMA hydrogel. Both Gel MS and GelMA MP were found to be more cost-effective, easier to produce, and more reproducible than GelMA MS. To assess their effectiveness as cell carriers, the growth and osteogenic differentiation of human dental pulp stem cells (hDPSCs) were directly compared across all carriers. Results showed that hDPSCs demonstrated significant proliferation and formed organoid-like clusters on both Gel MS and GelMA MP, similar to GelMA MS. Cell viability was higher on GelMA MS, GelMA MP, and Gel MS than in GelMA hydrogel, a commonly used cell carrier. Among the four cell carriers, Gel MS provided the best support for the growth and osteogenic differentiation of hDPSCs. This study identifies viable alternatives to GelMA MS and highlights the superior performance of Gel MS as a cell carrier, advancing tooth-germ organoid research and developing potential therapeutic applications.

Keywords
Gelatin microspheres
Methacrylate gelatin
Microparticles
Tooth
Organoids
Stem cells
Cell-carriers
Funding
None.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
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Global Translational Medicine, Electronic ISSN: 2811-0021 Print ISSN: 3060-8600, Published by AccScience Publishing
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