Fully-synthetic Extracellular Microenvironments for in Vitro Stem Cell Propagation and Organogenesis

Synthetic hydrogels for organogenesis support organogenesis from mammalian cells, including human cells. The synthetic hydrogels typically include a network of crosslinked branched biodegradable polymers. A portion of the branches of the branched biodegradable polymers are linked to binders which are generally synthetic peptides for cell and extracellular matrix attachment. The hydrogels may include an inhibitor of apoptosis. The synthetic hydrogels with the synthetic binders typically do not interfere with cellular, proteomic, genetic, and/or transcriptome analyses of organoids formed in the hydrogel. The synthetic hydrogels may be subject to on-demand dissolution to provide intact organoids substantially free of hydrogel polymers. Also provided are methods of making the synthetic hydrogels and methods of using the synthetic hydrogels for organogenesis.