Poly(l‐glutamic acid)‐based micellar hydrogel with improved mechanical performance and proteins loading

Abstract

Soft tissues, such as fat and skin, present high flexibility and are capable of withstanding large deformation in various functions. Hydrogels that can resemble the mechanical performance of soft tissue are unique and widely demanded. In this study, micellar hydrogels based on biocompatible poly(l‐glutamic acid) (PLGA) were designed with the enhanced capacity to bear large deformation. Amphipathic triblock copolymer poly(ethylene glycol) acrylate‐co‐poly(ε‐caprolactone)‐co‐poly (ethylene glycol) acrylate (APEG‐PCL‐APEG) with two terminal double bonds was synthesized and self‐assembled into micelles. At the same time, graft copolymers, poly(l‐glutamic acid)‐g‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate (PLGA‐g‐HEMA) with double bonds were synthesized. APEG‐PCL‐APEG micelles and PLGA‐g‐HEMA were mixed to construct micellar hydrogel via radical polymerization. The crystalline structure and hydrophobic aggregation of copolymers (APEG‐PCL‐APEG) were found to associate with PCL molecular weight. Due to the hydrophobic stress dissipation and crystalline structure of the micelles, the softness and toughness of hydrogels were promoted, exhibiting a 25% increase in ultimate strain. Moreover, the micellar hydrogels were able to load proteins with long‐term retention. In addition, under dynamic mechanical stimulation, the release of proteins could be accelerated. Besides, the micellar hydrogels also supported rabbit adipose‐derived stem cells (rASCs) growth, thus exhibiting the potential toward soft tissue engineering. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2019, 57, 1115–1125

Highly tough and elastic microspheric gel for transarterial catheter embolization in treatment of liver metastasis tumor

“…The two amphiphilic block polymers in aqueous solution possessed self-assembly behavior that driven by hydrophilic and hydrophobic interactions. The hydrophobic PCL formed the core while the hydrophilic PEG chains form the shell [ 22 ]. According to Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) images in Fig.…”

“…Poly (ethylene glycol)- co -poly(ε-caprolactone)- co -poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG-PCL-PEG, PPP; PEG, M n =2000 Da; PCL, M n =2000 Da) was purchased from Shanghai Jingchen Biotechnology Co., Ltd. PEG-PCL-PEG with two terminal double bonds ((PEG-PCL-PEG)DA, PPPDA) were synthesized according to our previous work [ 22 ]. Its 1 H NMR spectrum was showed in the Supplementary Fig.…”

Preparation of Assemblable Chondral and Subchondral Bone Microtissues for Osteochondral Tissue Engineering

“…Their synthetic protocol and chemical structure were close to the relevant studies. 24,25 Petroleum ether, span 80, 5,5′-dithio-bis-(2-nitrobenzoic acid) (DTNB), rhodamine B dye, cysteamine, CaCl 2 , Sr(OH) 2 , and Na 2 HPO 4 were purchased from Sinopharm Chemical Reagent Corp. (Shanghai, China).…”

“…Hydrophilic poly­( l -glutamic acid)- g -2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (PLGA- g -HEMA) [molecular weight = 5 × 10 4 ] and maleic anhydride-modified chitosan (MCS) [molecular weight = 8 × 10 4 ] were prepared by ourselves. Their synthetic protocol and chemical structure were close to the relevant studies. , Petroleum ether, span 80, 5,5′-dithio- bis -(2-nitrobenzoic acid) (DTNB), rhodamine B dye, cysteamine, CaCl 2 , Sr­(OH) 2 , and Na 2 HPO 4 were purchased from Sinopharm Chemical Reagent Corp. (Shanghai, China).…”

Influence of High Strain Dynamic Loading on HEMA–DMAEMA Hydrogel Storage Modulus and Time Dependence

“…Hydrogels have been an integral part of the medical and engineering fields for over half a century and continue to be an area of intense investigation due to their ideal viscoelastic, hydrophilic, multifunctional, and adaptive properties, where they have been studied for drug delivery [1][2][3][4], environmental remediation via the removal of dyes and heavy metal ions [5], wound healing [6,7], tissue-engineered scaffolds [8][9][10], contact lenses [11][12][13], pH and biosensors [14][15][16], and spinal cord injectables for regeneration [17,18]. Hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) hydrogels are one of the most extensively studied hydrogels for biomedical and energy storage applications because of their biocompatibility (e.g., non-toxic, non-immunogenic, and tissue compatible) [19,20], stability (e.g., resistance to enzymatic degradation and hydrolysis by acid or alkaline solutions) [21], and physical transparency (facilitating visual monitoring of processes or encapsulated elements for drug delivery, tissue engineering, or biosensors) [22].…”