Covalently adaptable elastin-like protein - hyaluronic acid (ELP - HA) hybrid hydrogels with secondary thermoresponsive crosslinking for injectable stem cell delivery.

ABSTRACT: Shear-thinning, self-healing hydrogels are promising vehicles for therapeutic cargo delivery due to their ability to be injected using minimally invasive surgical procedures. We present an injectable hydrogel using a novel combination of dynamic covalent crosslinking with thermoresponsive engineered proteins. Ex situ at room temperature, rapid gelation occurs through dynamic covalent hydrazone bonds by simply mixing two components: hydrazine-modified elastin-like protein (ELP) and aldehyde-modified hyaluronic acid. This hydrogel provides significant mechanical protection to encapsulated human mesenchymal stem cells during syringe needle injection and rapidly recovers after injection to retain the cells homogeneously within a 3D environment. In situ, the ELP undergoes a therma

SUBMITTER: Wang H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7546546 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature