An injectable and physical levan-based hydrogel as a dermal filler for soft tissue augmentation

Abstract

The use of injectable materials as a biofiller for soft tissue augmentation has been increasing worldwide. Levan is a biocompatible and inexpensive polysaccharide with great potential in biomaterial applications, but it has not been extensively studied. In this study, we evaluated the potential of levan as a new material for dermal fillers and prepared an injectable and physical levan-based hydrogel by combining levan with Pluronic and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC). A sol state was prepared by mixing the polymers in a specific ratio at 4 °C for 2 days and the hydrogel was formed by increasing the temperature to 37 °C. The elastic modulus of the levan hydrogel was higher than that of a hyaluronic acid (HA)-based hydrogel. The SEM images of the levan hydrogel showed an interconnected porous structure, similar to the HA hydrogel. Levan showed non-cytotoxicity, enhanced cell proliferation, and higher amount of collagen synthesis in human dermal fibroblast cells compared to HA. The injected levan hydrogel was biocompatible and stable over 2 weeks in vivo, longer than the Pluronic F127 hydrogel or HA hydrogel. Also, the levan hydrogel showed a higher amount of collagen production than the HA hydrogel in vivo. More importantly, the levan hydrogel showed enhanced anti-wrinkle efficacy compared to the HA hydrogel in a wrinkle model mouse. Thus, the levan hydrogel with injectability, biocompatibility, and an anti-wrinkle effect has high potential as an alternative to existing commercial dermal fillers.

Levan-Capped Silver Nanoparticles for Bactericidal Formulations: Release and Activity Modelling

“…Among this type of polymers, levan is a fructose homopolysaccharide with proper properties for biomedical applications [8,9,10,11,12]. Levan is obtained by cultivating a bacterial strain ( Zymomonas mobilis or Bacillus subtilis for instance) under acidic conditions (pH between 5–6) and high sucrose concentrations.…”

A multi-interpenetrating network (IPN) hydrogel with gelatin and silk fibroin

“…Hydrogel is a crosslinked network of hydrophilic polymers. Due to their high water contents, hydrogels mimic the natural extracellular matrix (ECM) and can serve as scaffolds for a variety of applications in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine [1][2][3][4][5][6] . However, the high water content also makes it challenging to produce mechanically robust hydrogels.…”

Injectable Hydrogels: A Review of Injectability Mechanisms and Biomedical Applications

“…For example, a Pluronic mixture was used as an easy handling and stable resident tissue adhesion barrier [16]. In another attempt, Choi et al prepared an injectable dermal filler for soft tissue augmentation by combining levan with Pluronic and carboxymethyl cellulose [17]. Several block copolymers of PEG and biodegradable polyesters, such as PEG-poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PEG-PLGA) [18] and PEG-poly( -caprolactone) (PEG-PCL) [19], also show thermogelling behavior.…”