Biodegradable Inorganic–Organic POSS–PEG Hybrid Hydrogels as Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering

Abstract

Biodegradable hydrogels have attracted much attention in tissue engineering due to their good biocompatibility and elastomeric behavior. In this work, a series of inorganic–organic polyhedral oligomeric silsequioxanes–poly(ethylene glycol) (POSS–PEG) hybrid hydrogels are prepared by covalently grafting POSS into PEG and further cross‐linked by matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) degradable peptide via Michael‐type addition polymerization. All the POSS–PEG hybrid hydrogels have a porous structure and high hydrophilic ability, and the grafted hydrophobic POSS macromers result in a higher mechanical properties and lower equilibrium swelling ratio. Additionally, the hydrogels can be biodegraded by MMP‐2 solution and the POSS loading level can influence the degradation rate. It is worth mentioning that POSS‐containing hybrid hydrogels can be prepared in water and be used for 3D cell culture. In vitro cell viability study on human umbilical vein endothelial cells for 3D cell culture indicates POSS–PEG hydrogels have good compatibility. All of these results suggest that these POSS–PEG hybrid hydrogels exhibit the potential for tissue engineering scaffolds.

Mechanical and Rheological Behavior of Hybrid Cross‐Linked Polyacrylamide/Cationic Micelle Hydrogels

“…Polymer hydrogels with excellent mechanical properties have attracted persistent attention in potential applications of soft materials, such as wearable sensors, tissue engineering scaffolds, and artificial implants . However, the conventional chemical cross‐linking hydrogels usually exhibit poor mechanical behavior, which originated from their low resistance to crack propagation caused by the lack of an efficient energy dissipation mechanism in the network .…”

Polyhedral Oligomeric Silsesquioxanes (POSS)-Based Hybrid Soft Gels: Molecular Design, Material Advantages, and Emerging Applications

“…Mono-mercapto POSS was grafted onto the maleimide-terminated tetra-arm PEG first and the macromolecules were then crosslinked with thiol ditelechelic polymers, which were alternated to offer different functions as required. For example, PEG bearing an ester bond (Figure ) and peptide were adopted to prepare hydrolytically degradable and enzyme-degradable hydrogels, respectively, and the degradation rate could be controlled by the feed ratio of POSS. , …”

“…For example, PEG bearing an ester bond (Figure 9) and peptide were adopted to prepare hydrolytically degradable and enzymedegradable hydrogels, respectively, and the degradation rate could be controlled by the feed ratio of POSS. 77,78 With careful design of the reaction conditions, some dualfunctional POSS molecules having one vertex substituted by a functional group and seven vertexes substituted by another functional group can be synthesized. Although their structures share similarity with monofunctional POSS molecules, they are of unique significance, considering the new opportunities for crosslinking, based on POSS brought by the second functionality.…”

Impact of supramolecular interactions on swelling and release behavior of UPy functionalized HEMA‐based hydrogels

“…Inspired by nature, there is a fast‐growing interest toward synthetic biocompatible hydrogels that exhibit complex behavior, easy to prepare and process, and also to tailor mechanical and physiological properties . In particular, excellent biocompatibility and similarity to the native extracellular matrix make the hydrogels one of the most promising candidates for biomedical applications such as scaffolds for tissue engineering as well as vehicles for delivery of drugs and growth factors . Considering the nature of cross‐links in their networks, hydrogels are categorized as covalent (chemical) and noncovalent (physical and or supramolecular) hydrogels .…”

“…[1][2][3] In particular, excellent biocompatibility and similarity to the native extracellular matrix make the hydrogels one of the most promising candidates for biomedical applications such as scaffolds for tissue engineering 4 as well as vehicles for delivery of drugs 5 and growth factors. 6 Considering the nature of cross-links in their networks, hydrogels are categorized as covalent (chemical) and noncovalent (physical and or supramolecular) hydrogels. 7,8 Over the last decade, researchers have focused on exploring chemical hydrogels and successfully fabricated hydrogels of diverse mechanical properties.…”