Protease-degradable electrospun fibrous hydrogels.

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Tissue Engineering
• Polymer Chemistry

Background:

• Electrospun nanofibers show promise for biomedical applications due to their ability to mimic the natural extracellular matrix (ECM).
• Current electrospun scaffolds lack the proteolytic degradation characteristic of natural ECM, often degrading hydrolytically or not at all.
• There is a need for biomaterials that degrade via enzymatic pathways similar to natural tissue remodeling.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize novel reactive macromers capable of forming protease-cleavable electrospun fibrous hydrogels.
• To create biomimetic scaffolds that degrade proteolytically, mimicking natural ECM degradation.
• To demonstrate the controlled and selective degradation of these scaffolds in vitro and in vivo.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of reactive macromers incorporating protease-cleavable and fluorescent peptides.
• Formation of isotropic and electrospun fibrous hydrogels via photoinitiated polymerization.
• In vitro degradation studies assessing protease dose-dependency and in vivo monitoring using transdermal fluorescent imaging in a mouse model.

Main Results:

• The synthesized scaffolds exhibited protease-mediated cleavage in vitro in a dose-dependent manner.
• In vivo degradation was successfully monitored in a subcutaneous mouse model using fluorescent imaging.
• Scaffolds with non-protease-cleavable sequences remained stable, demonstrating specificity.
• Selective degradation of mixed fiber populations was achieved based on degradability.

Conclusions:

• This study presents a novel biomimetic approach for creating protease-sensitive fibrous scaffolds.
• The developed materials effectively mimic natural ECM degradation pathways.
• These protease-sensitive scaffolds hold significant potential for advanced biomedical applications requiring controlled degradation.