Dynamic biomaterials excel at recapitulating the reversible interlocking and remoldable structure of the extracellular matrix (ECM), particularly in manipulating cell behaviors and adapting to tissue morphogenesis. While strategies based on dynamic chemistries have been extensively studied for ECM-mimicking dynamic biomaterials, biocompatible molecular means with biogenicity are still rare. Here, we report a nature-derived strategy for fabrication of dynamic biointerface as well as a three-dimensional (3D) hydrogel structure based on reversible receptor–ligand interaction between the glycopeptide antibiotic vancomycin and dipeptide d-Ala-d-Ala. We demonstrate the reversible regulation of multiple cell types with the dynamic biointerface and successfully implement the dynamic hydrogel as a functional antibacterial 3D scaffold to treat tissue repair. In view of the biogenicity and high applicability, this nature-derived reversible molecular strategy will bring opportunities for malleable biomaterial design with great potential in biomedicine.
Electrosprayed microspheres for bone regeneration are conventionally restricted by the lack of osteogenic modulation for both encapsulated stem cells and surrounding cells at the defect site. Here, sodium alginate microspheres encapsulating L‐arginine doped hydroxyapatite nanoparticles (Arg/HA NPs) and bone mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) as regeneration‐enhancer‐element reservoirs (Arg/HA‐SA@BMSC) for bone healing are electrosprayed. The Arg/HA NPs serve as a container of L‐arginine and Ca2+ and the BMSCs inside the microspheres metabolize the released L‐arginine into bioactive gas nitric oxide (NO) in the presence of Ca2+ to activate the nitric oxide (NO)/cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) signaling pathway. Meanwhile, the generated NO diffuses out of the microspheres together with the Ca2+ and L‐arginine as exterior enhancers to promote the osteogenesis–angiogenesis coupling of surrounding BMSCs and endothelial cells (ECs) at the bone defect site, generating an internal/external modulation loop between the encapsulated cells and surrounding native cells. It is demonstrated that such regeneration‐enhancer‐element reservoirs could effectively increase the bone tissue formation and neovasculature using rat calvarial defect models. It is envisioned that the microsphere system could streamline vascularized bone regeneration therapy as a high throughput, minimally invasive yet highly effective strategy to accelerate bone healing.
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