Injectable Self-Healing Glucose-Responsive Hydrogels with pH-Regulated Mechanical Properties

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Biomedical Engineering
• Polymer Chemistry

Background:

• Dynamic covalent chemistry offers unique properties for material design.
• Hydrogels are versatile biomaterials with applications in drug delivery.
• Stimuli-responsive materials are crucial for advanced therapeutic systems.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize pH-responsive hydrogels utilizing dynamic covalent chemistry.
• To investigate the self-healing and shear-thinning properties of these hydrogels.
• To evaluate the controlled, glucose-responsive protein release and biocompatibility of the synthesized hydrogels.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of hydrogels via dynamic covalent chemistry between phenylboronic acid and cis-diol modified poly(ethylene glycol).
• Characterization of hydrogel properties including shear-thinning and self-healing.
• In vitro and in vivo evaluation of protein release kinetics and biocompatibility.

Main Results:

• The synthesized hydrogels exhibit pH-responsiveness and dynamic restructuring.
• Demonstrated shear-thinning behavior with rapid structural recovery (self-healing).
• Achieved size-dependent, in vitro controlled, and glucose-responsive protein release.

Conclusions:

• Dynamically restructuring hydrogels can be effectively synthesized using phenylboronic acid and cis-diol chemistry.
• These hydrogels possess desirable properties for controlled release applications, including self-healing and responsiveness to glucose.
• The demonstrated biocompatibility supports their potential use in biomedical applications and drug delivery systems.