Newsletter February 2026

New Product Release: ToLuminate Photogels

The first and only animal-free photo-inducible hydrogels based on the thiol-ene chemistry are now available!

ToLuminate Photogels feature all functionalities of the 3-D Life Hydrogel system

If you have struggled in the past with hydrogels based on the methacrylate chemistry (for example GelMa) this is your solution! ToLuminate Photogels are based on the thiol-ene chemistry which has significant advantages over the methacrylate system (1):

Less photoinitiator required
Less light exposure required
Improved cell viability due to highly reduced ROS generation
Higher resolution in bioprinting due to a higher temporal control with no dark curing

(1) A Comparative Study between Thiol‐Ene and Acrylate Photocrosslinkable Hyaluronic Acid Hydrogel Inks for Digital Light Processing ( Macromol Biosci . 2024 Dec 31; 25(3):2400535. doi: 10.1002/mabi.202400535).

Applications

Temporal control of gel formation
Stiffness gradients
Gel sculpting:
- Lithographic bioprinting
- Digital Light Processing (DLP)
- Mask-generated patterns on organ-on-chips

Use the online calculation tool for easy design of ToLuminate photogels

3-D Cell Culture

Culture of human fibroblasts on day 6 in ToLuminate CD-HA Photogel modified with 1.2 mg/mL GFOGER-3 Peptide.

Cytotoxity Studies and Gel Formation

A: Cell viability in ToLuminate hydrogels at increasing energy input. Fibroblasts were embedded in ToLuminate hydrogel modified with RGD peptide and crosslinked with the MMP-cleavable crosslinker CD-Link. Gel formation was induced with a 405 nm LED pen at a light intensity of 45 W/cm2 and in the presence of 1, 06 mmol/L photoinitiator LAP. Relative cell viability is shown in comparison to cells cultured in standard 3-D Life Hydrogel (Dextran-CD Hydrogel SG) with similar gel stiffness (approximately 800 Pa). Cell viability was determined by the Alamar Blue assay after overnight culture. B: Rheology of the ToLuminate hydrogel shows the relative stiffness obtained at given time points of light exposure.