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Injectable Supramolecular Polymer-Nanoparticle Hydrogels for Cell and Drug Delivery Applications
Published on: February 7, 2021
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Highly Stretchable, Self-Healing, Injectable and pH Responsive Hydrogel from Multiple Hydrogen Bonding and
Yi-Yang Peng1,2, Qiuli Cheng2, Meng Wu1
1Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2G6, Canada.
Gels (Basel, Switzerland)
|September 27, 2023
Summary
This study presents a novel, cost-effective dual-responsive hydrogel with self-healing and injectable properties. Optimized sugar-to-borate ratios enhance mechanical strength, enabling potential applications in drug delivery and tissue engineering.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Biomaterials Engineering
- Polymer Chemistry
Background:
- Hydrogels are versatile biomaterials with applications in drug delivery and tissue engineering.
- Developing advanced hydrogels with tunable mechanical properties, self-healing, and injectability remains a significant challenge.
- Dual-responsive materials offer enhanced functionality for sophisticated biomedical applications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a simple, cost-effective, safe, dual-responsive, highly stretchable, self-healing, and injectable hydrogel.
- To investigate the tunability of mechanical properties through polymer composition and crosslinking.
- To evaluate the hydrogel's responsiveness to pH and free sugar, and its biocompatibility.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of hydrogel using dynamic boronate ester bonds and hydrogen bonding interactions.
- Tuning mechanical properties by adjusting molar ratios of sugar moieties and borax.
- Characterization of hydrogel properties including stretchability, self-healing, injectability, and responsiveness to pH and free sugar.
- Assessment of cell viability using 3D live/dead assay with MRC-5 cells.
Main Results:
- A safe, dual-responsive, highly stretchable, self-healing, and injectable hydrogel was successfully fabricated.
- Mechanical properties were tunable, with a 2:1 sugar-to-borate ratio significantly enhancing mechanical strength.
- The hydrogel demonstrated responsiveness to pH variations and the presence of free sugar.
- High MRC-5 cell viability was observed, indicating good biocompatibility.
Conclusions:
- The developed hydrogel possesses desirable properties for advanced biomedical applications.
- Tunable mechanical strength and dual responsiveness make it suitable for drug delivery systems.
- Excellent biocompatibility and self-healing capabilities support its use as a scaffold for cell and tissue engineering.
