Photodegradable Hydrogels Made via RAFT

Robot-Assisted Synthesis of Structure-Controlled Star-Cluster Hydrogels with Targeted Mechanophysical Properties for Biomedical Applications

Advancements in polymer chemistry have enabled the design of macromolecular structures with tailored properties for diverse applications. Reversible addition-fragmentation chain-transfer (RAFT) polymerization is a controlled technique for precise polymer design. Automation tools further enhance polymer synthesis by enabling the rapid, reproducible preparation of polymer libraries. This study utilizes an automated platform and a biologically friendly bio-Fenton RAFT synthesis method to create hydrogels with embedded star polymers derived from complex block copolymers with controlled block lengths and sequences. Automation improves the efficiency compared to manual methods, while the choice of prepolymer and polymerization techniques ensures biocompatibility. Hydrogels formed by cross-linking linear block copolymers exhibit tunable physical, chemical, and mechanical properties. By systematically altering the prepolymer block sequences, promising hydrogel candidates for enhanced cell biocompatibility and proliferation are identified. These synthetic hydrogels mimic cellular microenvironments and offer a robust platform for biomedical applications, paving the way for an efficient hydrogel design and synthesis.

Photo-degradable, tough and highly stretchable hydrogels

We present for the first time highly stretchable and tough hydrogels with controlled light-triggered photodegradation. A double-network of alginate/polyacrylamide (PAAm) is formed by using covalently and ionically crosslinked subnetworks. The ionic Ca²⁺ alginate interpenetrates a PAAm network covalently crosslinked by a bifunctional acrylic crosslinker containing the photodegradable o-nitrobenzyl (ONB) core instead of the commonly used methylene bisacrylamide (MBAA). Remarkably, due to the developed protocol, the change of the crosslinker did not affect the hydrogel's mechanical properties. The incorporation of photosensitive components in hydrogels allows external temporal control of their properties and tuneable degradation. Cell viability and cell proliferation assays revealed that hydrogels and their photodegradation products are not cytotoxic to the NIH3T3 cell line. In one example of application, we used these hydrogels for bio-potential acquisition in wearable electrocardiography. Surprisingly, these hydrogels showed a lower skin-electrode impedance, compared to the common medical grade Ag/AgCl electrodes. This work lays the foundation for the next generation of tough and highly stretchable hydrogels that are environmentally friendly and can find applications in a variety of fields such as health, electronics, and energy, as they combine excellent mechanical properties with controlled degradation.

Stimuli-responsive destructible polymeric hydrogels based on irreversible covalent bond dissociation

Covalently crosslinked stimuli-destructible hydrogels with the ability of irreversible bond dissociation have attracted great attentions due to their biodegradability, stability against hydrolysis, and controlled solubility upon insertion of desired triggers.

Living Polymer Networks Prepared by Controlled Radical Polymerization Techniques

Controlled radical polymerization (CRP) techniques have become widely accepted and used in polymer research and development. While much has been done towards their traditional usage in linear and branched systems,...

Comparison of Thermoresponsive Hydrogels Synthesized by Conventional Free Radical and RAFT Polymerization

We compared the influence of the polymerization mechanism onto the physical characteristics of thermoresponsive hydrogels. The Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) hydrogels were successfully synthesized using reversible addition-fragmentation chain-transfer (RAFT) and free radical polymerization (FRP). The gels were prepared while using different crosslinker feed and monomer concentration. The swelling, dye release, and hydrolytic stability of the gels were investigated in water, or in representative komostrope and chaotrope salt solutions at room temperature and at 37 °C. It was found that the swelling ratio (SR) of the RAFT gels was significantly higher than that of the FRP gels; however, an increased crosslinking density resulted in a decrease of the SR of the RAFT gels as compared to the corresponding gels that are made by FRP, which indicates the limitation of the cross-linking efficiency that is attained in RAFT polymerization. Additionally, an increased monomer concentration decreased the SR of the RAFT gels, whereas a similar SR was observed for the FRP gels. However, the SR of both RAFT and FRP gels in NaSCN and Na₂SO₄ solutions were similar. Finally, the rate of dye release was significantly slower from the RAFT gels than the FRP gels and the hydrolytic stability of the RAFT gels was lower than that of FRP gels in water, but maintained similar stability in Na₂SO₄ and NaSCN solutions.

Responsive Polymers as Smart Nanomaterials Enable Diverse Applications

Responsive polymers undergo reversible or irreversible physical or chemical modifications in response to a change in environment or stimulus, e.g., temperature, pH, light, and magnetic or electric fields. Polymeric nanoparticles (NPs), which constitute a diverse set of morphologies, including micelles, vesicles, and core-shell geometries, have been successfully prepared from responsive polymers and have shown great promise in applications ranging from drug delivery to catalysis. In this review, we summarize pH, thermo-, photo-, and enzymatic responsiveness for a selection of polymers. We then discuss the formation of NPs made from responsive polymers. Finally, we highlight how NPs and other nanomaterials are enabling a wide range of smart applications with improved efficiency, as well as improved sustainability and recyclability of polymeric systems.

Photocontrolled Growth of Cross-Linked Nanonetworks

We report the preparation of photoresponsive nanomaterials and the increase of their nanoscopic size through a "photogrowth" mechanism. The photogrowable nanonetworks (PGNNs) were synthesized by cross-linking two components, a thiolated acrylate copolymer and a symmetrical bismaleimide trithiocarbonate (TTC), utilizing thiol-maleimide click chemistry. With this strategy, nanonetwork growth was achieved through a photoinduced polymerization from the integrated trithiocarbonate by either direct photolysis or photoredox catalysis. Via direct photolysis, we generated a series of expanded particles by polymerizing methyl acrylate (MA) under irradiation with violet light (400 nm) over a period of 1, 3, and 6 h, starting from a 58 nm parent particle, resulting in particles of increased sizes of 77, 156, and 358 nm, respectively. Nanoparticle expansion reactions catalyzed by 10-phenylphenothiazine (PTH) were experienced to progress faster in 20 and 30 min to reach particle sizes of 195 and 300 nm. The addition of the photoredox catalyst to the expansion polymerizations with MA resulted in an increased control over the dispersity of the particles as well as of the promoted disassembly products. In this work, we demonstrated that nanoparticle structures designed as cross-linked networks with integrated trithiocarbonates can be expanded by photocontrolled radical polymerizations (photo-CRPs) in the presence or absence of a photoredox catalyst. These proof-of-concept experiments showcase the dynamic growth and integration of functional units into existing scaffolds and open up the possibility to prepare highly tailorable nanomaterials.

Mesoscopic study of the ternary phase diagram of the PS-PB-PtBMA triblock copolymer: modification of the phase structure by the composition effect

We explored in detail the ordered nanostructures and the ternary phase diagram of the polystyrene-polybutadiene-poly(tert-butyl methacrylate) (PS-PB-PtBMA) triblock copolymer via dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) simulations and coarse-grained models. The mesoscopic simulations show that the PS-PB-PtBMA copolymer in the bulk state can generate eight equilibrium phase regions with well-defined morphologies such as core-shell variations of spheres, cylinders, perforated layers, lamellar, gyroid, as well as cylinder-in-lamella, spheres-in-lamella, and cylinders in hexagonal lattice. The ordered phases exhibit high dependence on the chemical nature and volume fraction, thus portraying specific composition regions with high thermodynamic stability over a ternary phase diagram. The ternary phase diagram, including all equilibrium and metastable nanostructures detected, is described, and analysed in this work in detail. Finally, our dynamic simulation outcomes agree with experimental results. Our aim is to contribute to the understanding of the relationship between block volume fractions and bulk morphologies in ternary polymer systems.

Preparation of photodegradable polyacrylamide hydrogels via micellar copolymerization and determination of their phototunable elasticity and swelling behaviors

A photo-decomposable hydrophobic crosslinker was synthesized and utilized to obtain photo-tunable hydrogelsviafree radical micellar copolymerization.

Degradable vinyl polymers for biomedical applications

Vinyl polymers have been the focus of intensive research over the past few decades and are attractive materials owing to their ease of synthesis and their broad diversity of architectures, compositions and functionalities. Their carbon-carbon backbones are extremely resistant to degradation, however, and this property limits their uses. Degradable polymers are an important field of research in polymer science and have been used in a wide range of applications spanning from (nano)medicine to microelectronics and environmental protection. The development of synthetic strategies to enable complete or partial degradation of vinyl polymers is, therefore, of great importance because it will offer new opportunities for the application of these materials. This Review captures the most recent and promising approaches to the design of degradable vinyl polymers and discusses the potential of these materials for biomedical applications.

Facile One-step Micropatterning Using Photodegradable Methacrylated Gelatin Hydrogels for Improved Cardiomyocyte Organization and Alignment

Hydrogels are often employed as temporary platforms for cell proliferation and tissue organization in vitro. Researchers have incorporated photodegradable moieties into synthetic polymeric hydrogels as a means of achieving spatiotemporal control over material properties. In this study protein-based photodegradable hydrogels composed of methacrylated gelatin (GelMA) and a crosslinker containing o-nitrobenzyl ester groups have been developed. The hydrogels are able to degrade rapidly and specifically in response to UV light and can be photopatterned to a variety of shapes and dimensions in a one-step process. Micropatterned photodegradable hydrogels are shown to improve cell distribution, alignment and beating regularity of cultured neonatal rat cardiomyocytes. Overall this work introduces a new class of photodegradable hydrogel based on natural and biofunctional polymers as cell culture substrates for improving cellular organization and function.

Opportunities for multicomponent hybrid hydrogels in biomedical applications

Hydrogels provide mechanical support and a hydrated environment that offer good cytocompatibility and controlled release of molecules, and myriad hydrogels thus have been studied for biomedical applications. In the past few decades, research in these areas has shifted increasingly to multicomponent hydrogels that better capture the multifunctional nature of native biological environments and that offer opportunities to selectively tailor materials properties. This review summarizes recent approaches aimed at producing multicomponent hydrogels, with descriptions of contemporary chemical and physical approaches for forming networks, and of the use of both synthetic and biologically derived molecules to impart desired properties. Specific multicomponent materials with enhanced mechanical properties are presented, as well as materials in which multiple biological functions are imparted for applications in tissue engineering, cancer treatment, and gene therapies. The progress in the field suggests significant promise for these approaches in the development of biomedically relevant materials.

Acid degradable poly(vinylcaprolactam)-based nanogels with ketal linkages for drug delivery

We developed acid degradable P(VCL-ketal-HPMA) nanogels for drug delivery via precipitation polymerization using ketal-bonded DMAEP as a cross-linker and hydrophilic HPMA as a comonomer.

Novel photolabile crosslinkers based on O-acyloxime moiety

Novel photolabile crosslinkers bearing O-acyloxime moiety are proposed. The crosslinkers were polymerized with methyl acrylate in film state, and the photodegradation of resulting films are demonstrated.

Photolabile ROMP gels using ortho-nitrobenzyl functionalized crosslinkers

The photosensitivity of ROMP gels to UV light is broadly tunable based on the structure of o-nitrobenzyl-derived crosslinkers.

Coumarin-Based Photodegradable Hydrogel: Design, Synthesis, Gelation, and Degradation Kinetics

The design, synthesis, and characterization of a new class of coumarin-based photodegradable hydrogels are reported. Hydrogel formation was achieved rapidly and efficiently under aqueous conditions using copper-catalyzed click chemistry, which afforded excellent control over the rate of network formation. Rapid photodegradation, to the point of reverse gelation, was observed using both 365 and 405 nm light, and micrometer-scale features were eroded using two-photon irradiation at wavelengths as long as 860 nm.

25th anniversary article: Rational design and applications of hydrogels in regenerative medicine

Hydrogels are hydrophilic polymer-based materials with high water content and physical characteristics that resemble the native extracellular matrix. Because of their remarkable properties, hydrogel systems are used for a wide range of biomedical applications, such as three-dimensional (3D) matrices for tissue engineering, drug-delivery vehicles, composite biomaterials, and as injectable fillers in minimally invasive surgeries. In addition, the rational design of hydrogels with controlled physical and biological properties can be used to modulate cellular functionality and tissue morphogenesis. Here, the development of advanced hydrogels with tunable physiochemical properties is highlighted, with particular emphasis on elastomeric, light-sensitive, composite, and shape-memory hydrogels. Emerging technologies developed over the past decade to control hydrogel architecture are also discussed and a number of potential applications and challenges in the utilization of hydrogels in regenerative medicine are reviewed. It is anticipated that the continued development of sophisticated hydrogels will result in clinical applications that will improve patient care and quality of life.

A polyester–polystyrene hybrid connected by dynamic covalent bonds prepared via radical polymerization of styrene in a “RAFT gel”

We cross-linked the polyester chains with 1,1-thiocarbonyldiimidazole to form a reversible addition–fragmentation chain-transfer (RAFT) gel, in which the trithiocarbonate moiety acted as a cross-linker. The “RAFT gel” was then swollen in vinyl monomers and styrene was radically polymerized within the gel, in which the polyester and polystyrene segments were miscible at the segment level.