Versatile Mechanically Tunable Hydrogels for Therapeutic Delivery Applications

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

  • Qiyao Sun
  • Siyuan Tao
  • Giovanni Bovone
  • Garam Han
  • Dhananjay Deshmukh
  • Mark W. Tibbitt
  • Qun Ren
  • Bertsch, Pascal Peter
  • Gilberto Siqueira
  • Peter Fischer

Hydrogels provide a versatile platform for biomedical material fabrication that can be structurally and mechanically fine-tuned to various tissues and applications. Applications of hydrogels in biomedicine range from highly dynamic injectable hydrogels that can flow through syringe needles and maintain or recover their structure after extrusion to solid-like wound-healing patches that need to be stretchable while providing a selective physical barrier. In this study, a toolbox is designed using thermo-responsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) polymeric matrices and nanocelluloses as reinforcing agent to obtain biocompatible hydrogels with altering mechanical properties, from a liquid injectable to a solid-like elastic hydrogel. The liquid hydrogels possess low viscosity and shear-thinning properties at 25 °C, which allows facile injection at room temperature, while they become viscoelastic gels at body temperature. In contrast, the covalently cross-linked solid-like hydrogels exhibit enhanced viscoelasticity. The liquid hydrogels are biocompatible and are able to delay the in vitro release and maintain the bioactivity of model drugs. The antimicrobial agent loaded solid-like hydrogels are effective against typical wound-associated pathogens. This work presents a simple method of tuning hydrogel mechanical strength to easily adapt to applications in different soft tissues and broaden the potential of renewable bio-nanoparticles in hybrid biomaterials with controlled drug release capabilities.

Original languageEnglish
JournalAdvanced Healthcare Materials
ISSN2192-2640
DOIs
Publication statusAccepted/In press - 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 The Authors. Advanced Healthcare Materials published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.

    Research areas

  • drug delivery, hydrogel, injectable, nanocellulose, wound dressing

ID: 387934780