rev-Gelatin: A Gelatin with Reverse Thermo-Responsive Behavior Inspired by Candy and Ice Cubes Phase Dynamics

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Polymer Chemistry
• Translational Medicine

Background:

• Conventional gelatin exhibits a gel-to-sol transition upon heating, limiting its use in biomedical applications requiring a gel state at physiological temperatures.
• Existing thermo-sensitive polymers like Pluronic F127 and poly(NIPAAm) have limitations in certain biomedical contexts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To engineer a reverse thermo-responsive gelatin, termed rev-Gelatin, that forms a gel at physiological temperatures.
• To explore the potential of rev-Gelatin in biomedical applications, particularly hemostasis and submucosal injections.

Main Methods:

• Development of rev-Gelatin with reverse thermo-responsive properties, transitioning from sol to gel with increasing temperature.
• Characterization of rev-Gelatin's phase dynamics, inspired by the surface melting of materials like candy.
• Evaluation of rev-Gelatin's performance in hemostatic applications and as a submucosal injection agent.

Main Results:

• rev-Gelatin exists as a fluid sol at ambient temperature, allowing for easy injectability.
• Upon warming to physiological temperatures, rev-Gelatin microgels coalesce via surface melting to form a stable gel.
• In hemostatic applications, rev-Gelatin rapidly gels upon contact with blood, reducing bleeding time and blood loss.

Conclusions:

• rev-Gelatin represents a new class of thermo-sensitive biomaterials with tunable sol-to-gel transition properties.
• Its reverse thermo-responsive nature makes it suitable for applications requiring injectability at room temperature and gelation at body temperature.
• rev-Gelatin shows significant promise for hemostatic applications and as a submucosal injection agent in gastrointestinal surgeries.