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Multiple Crosslinking Hyaluronic Acid Hydrogels with Improved Strength and 3D Printability
Tingting Wan1, Penghui Fan1, Mengfan Zhang1
1Key Laboratory of Green Processing and Functional Textiles of New Textile Materials, Ministry of Education, Wuhan Textile University, Wuhan 430073, People's Republic of China.
ACS Applied Bio Materials
|January 11, 2022
Summary
Modified hyaluronic acid hydrogels offer improved 3D printing properties for biomedical uses. These advanced hydrogels demonstrate enhanced structural stability and cell compatibility, showing great potential for tissue engineering scaffolds.
Area of Science:
- Biomaterials Science
- Polymer Chemistry
- Tissue Engineering
Background:
- Hyaluronic acid (HA) hydrogels are ideal for biomedicine due to their biocompatibility and hydration.
- Traditional HA hydrogels exhibit poor printability for 3D fabrication.
- Modifications are needed to enhance HA hydrogel properties for advanced applications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To synthesize modified hyaluronic acid derivatives for improved 3D printing.
- To develop a novel HA hydrogel system with enhanced mechanical and rheological properties.
- To evaluate the potential of the developed HA hydrogel for tissue engineering scaffolds.
Main Methods:
- Synthesis of maleiated sodium hyaluronate (MHA) and thiolated sodium hyaluronate (SHHA).
- Preparation of MHA/SHHA hydrogels via Michael addition and photopolymerization.
- Characterization of rheological, swelling, and mechanical properties.
- 3D printing of hydrogel scaffolds using extrusion-based techniques.
Main Results:
- MHA/SHHA hydrogel precursors exhibited rapid gelling and improved compressive strength.
- Rheological, swelling, and mechanical properties were tunable by adjusting the thiol/acrylate ratio.
- High-resolution hydrogel scaffolds with excellent structural stability were successfully fabricated via 3D printing.
- The developed HA hydrogel demonstrated cytocompatibility and supported L929 cell adhesion.
Conclusions:
- Modified HA hydrogels (MHA/SHHA) overcome the printing limitations of native HA.
- The tunable crosslinking mechanisms allow for precise control over hydrogel properties.
- The 3D printable, cytocompatible HA hydrogel shows significant promise for tissue engineering applications.
