Lin F, Wang Z, Xiang L, Wu L, Liu Y, Xi X, Deng L, Cui W. Transporting Hydrogel via Chinese Acupuncture Needles for Lesion Positioning Therapy.
ADVANCED SCIENCE (WEINHEIM, BADEN-WURTTEMBERG, GERMANY) 2022;
9:e2200079. [PMID:
35404511 PMCID:
PMC9189641 DOI:
10.1002/advs.202200079]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2022] [Revised: 03/17/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Lesion positioning therapy optimizes medical treatment by directly targeting lesions. However, strong physical barriers greatly hinder its wide use. Here, the Chinese acupuncture needles (CA-needles) with a screw-thread structure at the tip (ST-needle) and the hydrogel with the function of adhesive metal and loaded drug sustained-release structure are designed, through the minimally invasive and precise positioning of lesions by ST-needles, the dry-wet conversion of hydrogel with absorbing fluids and swelling, and the rotation back of ST-needles, the hydrogel is precisely positioned in the subchondral bone with physical barrier to achieve precise positioning therapy for lesions. In vitro experiments show that the ST-needle penetrates the physical barrier of cartilage and enters the subchondral bone. Simultaneously, the hydrogel transfer efficiency of the ST-needle (73.25%) is significantly higher than that of the CA-needle (29.92%) due to the protective effect of the screw-thread structure. In vivo experiments demonstrate that precise positioning in subchondral bone in osteoarthritis rats with ST-needles effectively inhibits abnormal subchondral bone remodeling, alleviating the degeneration and degradation of cartilage. Therefore, ST-needles achieve lesion positioning therapy through minimally invasive penetration of physical barriers, precisely positioning within lesions, and delivering hydrogel to release drugs.
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