Free-Standing Photocrosslinked Protein Polymer Hydrogels for Sustained Drug Release

Oxidized sodium alginate hydrogel-mouse nerve growth factor sustained release system promotes repair of peripheral nerve injury

In recent years, mouse nerve growth factor (mNGF) has emerged as an important biological regulator to repair peripheral nerve injury, but its systemic application is restricted by low efficiency and large dosage requirement. These limitations prompted us to search for biomaterials that can be locally loaded. Oxidized sodium alginate hydrogel (OSA) exhibits good biocompatibility and physicochemical properties, and can be loaded with drugs to construct a sustained-release system that can act locally on nerve injury. Here, we constructed a sustained-release system of OSA-mouse nerve growth factor (mNGF), and investigated the loading and release of the drug through Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and drug release curves. In vitro and in vivo experiments showed that OSA-mNGF significantly promoted the biological activities of RSC-96 cells and facilitated the recovery from sciatic nerve crush injury in rats. This observation may be attributed to the additive effect of OSA on promoting Schwann cell biological activities or its synergistic effect of cross-activating phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) through extracellular signal regulated kinase (ERK) signaling. Although the specific mechanism of OSA action needs to be explored in the future, the current results provide a valuable preliminary research basis for the clinical application of the OSA-mNGF sustained-release system for nerve repair.

Injectable, shear-thinning, photocrosslinkable, and tissue-adhesive hydrogels composed of diazirine-modified hyaluronan and dendritic polyethyleneimine

In the present study, we report the first synthesis of diazirine-modified hyaluronic acid (HA-DAZ). In addition, we also produced a precursor polymer solution composed of HA-DAZ and dendritic polyethyleneimine (DPI) that showed strong shear-thinning properties. Furthermore, its viscosity was strongly reduced (i.e., from 5 × 105 mPa s at 10-3 s-1 to 6 × 101 mPa s at 103 s-1), substantially, which enhanced solution injectability using a 21 G needle. After ultraviolet irradiation at 365 nm and 6 mW cm-2, the HA-DAZ/DPI solution achieved rapid gelation, as measured using the stirring method, and its gelation time decreased from 200 s to 9 s as the total concentrations of HA-DAZ and DPI increased. Following UV irradiation, the storage modulus increased from 40 to 200 Pa. In addition, reversible sol-gel transition and self-healing properties were observed even after UV irradiation. This suggests that the HA-DAZ/DPI hydrogel was crosslinked in multiple ways, i.e., via covalent bonding between the diazirine and amine groups and via intermolecular interactions, including hydrogen bonding, electrostatic interactions, and hydrophobic interactions. A lap shear test showed that the HA-DAZ/DPI hydrogel exhibited strong adhesiveness as a fibrin glue following UV irradiation. Finally, the HA-DAZ/DPI hydrogel showed higher tissue reinforcement than fibrin glue in an ex vivo burst pressure test of the porcine esophageal mucosa.

Encoding Structure in Intrinsically Disordered Protein Biomaterials

In nature, proteins range from those with highly ordered secondary and tertiary structures to those that completely lack a well-defined three-dimensional structure, termed intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs). IDPs are generally characterized by one or more segments that have a compositional bias toward small hydrophilic amino acids and proline residues that promote structural disorder and are called intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs). The combination of IDRs with ordered regions and the interactions between the two determine the phase behavior, structure, and function of IDPs. Nature also diversifies the structure of proteins and thereby their functions by hybridization of the proteins with other moieties such as glycans and lipids; for instance, post-translationally glycosylated and lipidated proteins are important cell membrane components. Additionally, diversity in protein structure and function is achieved in nature through cross-linking proteins within themselves or with other domains to create various topologies. For example, an essential characteristic of the extracellular matrix (ECM) is the cross-linking of its network components, including proteins such as collagen and elastin, as well as polysaccharides such as hyaluronic acid (HA). Inspired by nature, synthetic IDP (SynIDP)-based biomaterials can be designed by employing similar strategies with the goal of introducing structural diversity and hence unique physiochemical properties. This Account describes such materials produced over the past decade and following one or more of the following approaches: (1) incorporating highly ordered domains into SynIDPs, (2) conjugating SynIDPs to other moieties through either genetically encoded post-translational modification or chemical conjugation, and (3) engineering the topology of SynIDPs via chemical modification. These approaches introduce modifications to the primary structure of SynIDPs, which are then translated to unique three-dimensional secondary and tertiary structures. Beginning with completely disordered SynIDPs as the point of origin, structure may be introduced into SynIDPs by each of these three unique approaches individually along orthogonal axes or by combinations of the three, enabling bioinspired designs to theoretically span the entire range of three-dimensional structural possibilities. Furthermore, the resultant structures span a wide range of length scales, from nano- to meso- to micro- and even macrostructures. In this Account, emphasis is placed on the physiochemical properties and structural features of the described materials. Conjugates of SynIDPs to synthetic polymers and materials achieved by simple mixing of components are outside the scope of this Account. Related biomedical applications are described briefly. Finally, we note future directions for the design of functional SynIDP-based biomaterials.

Mechanically Tunable Hydrogels with Self-Healing and Shape Memory Capabilities from Thermo-Responsive Amino Acid-Derived Vinyl Polymers

In this study, we report the fabrication and characterization of self-healing and shape-memorable hydrogels, the mechanical properties of which can be tuned via post-polymerization crosslinking. These hydrogels were constructed from a thermo-responsive poly(N-acryloyl glycinamide) (NAGAm) copolymer containing N-acryloyl serine methyl ester (NASMe) units (5 mol%) that were readily synthesized via conventional radical copolymerization. This transparent and free-standing hydrogel is produced via multiple hydrogen bonds between PNAGAm chains by simply dissolving the polymer in water at a high temperature (~90 °C) and then cooling it. This hydrogel exhibited moldability and self-healing properties. The post-polymerization crosslinking of the amino acid-derived vinyl copolymer network with glutaraldehyde, which acts as a crosslinker between the hydroxy groups of the NASMe units, tuned mechanical properties such as viscoelasticity and tensile strength. The optimal crosslinker concentration efficiently improved the viscoelasticity. Moreover, these hydrogels exhibited shape fixation (~60%)/memory (~100%) behavior owing to the reversible thermo-responsiveness (upper critical solution temperature-type) of the PNAGAm units. Our multifunctional hydrogel, with moldable, self-healing, mechanical tunability via post-polymerization crosslinking, and shape-memorable properties, has considerable potential for applications in engineering and biomedical materials.