Tissue engineering
involves the transplantation of stem cell-laden
hydrogels as synthetic constructs to replace damaged tissues. However,
their time-consuming fabrication procedures are hurdles to widespread
application in clinics. Fortunately, similar to cell banking, synthetic
tissues could be cryopreserved for subsequent central distribution.
Here, we report the use of trehalose and gellan gum as biomacromolecules
to form a cryopreservable yet directly implantable hydrogel system
for adipose-derived stem cell (ADSC) delivery. Through a modified
cell encapsulation method and a preincubation step, adequate cryoprotection
was afforded at 0.75 M trehalose to the encapsulated ADSCs. At this
concentration, trehalose demonstrated lower propensity to induce apoptosis
than 10% DMSO, the current gold standard cryoprotectant. Moreover,
when cultured along with trehalose after thawing, the encapsulated
ADSCs retained their stem cell-like phenotype and osteogenic differentiation
capacity. Taken together, this study demonstrates the feasibility
of an “off-the-shelf” biomacromolecule-based synthetic
tissue to be applied in widespread tissue engineering applications.