Shear-thinning and self-healing hydrogels as injectable therapeutics and for 3D-printing.

ABSTRACT: The design of injectable hydrogel systems addresses the growing demand for minimally invasive approaches for local and sustained delivery of therapeutics. We developed a class of hyaluronic acid (HA) hydrogels that form through noncovalent guest-host interactions, undergo disassembly (shear-thinning) when injected through a syringe and then reassemble within seconds (self-healing) when shear forces are removed. Its unique properties enable the use of this hydrogel system for numerous applications, such as injection in vivo (including with cells and therapeutic molecules) or as a 'bioink' in 3D-printing applications. Here, we describe the functionalization of HA either with adamantanes (guest moieties) via controlled esterification or with β-cyclodextrins (host moieties) through amidation.

SUBMITTER: Loebel C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7546336 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature