Self-healing hydrogel as an injectable implant: translation in brain diseases

Abstract

Tissue engineering biomaterials are aimed to mimic natural tissue and promote new tissue formation for the treatment of impaired or diseased tissues. Highly porous biomaterial scaffolds are often used to carry cells or drugs to regenerate tissue-like structures. Meanwhile, self-healing hydrogel as a category of smart soft hydrogel with the ability to automatically repair its own structure after damage has been developed for various applications through designs of dynamic crosslinking networks. Due to flexibility, biocompatibility, and ease of functionalization, self-healing hydrogel has great potential in regenerative medicine, especially in restoring the structure and function of impaired neural tissue. Recent researchers have developed self-healing hydrogel as drug/cell carriers or tissue support matrices for targeted injection via minimally invasive surgery, which has become a promising strategy in treating brain diseases. In this review, the development history of self-healing hydrogel for biomedical applications and the design strategies according to different crosslinking (gel formation) mechanisms are summarized. The current therapeutic progress of self-healing hydrogels for brain diseases is described as well, with an emphasis on the potential therapeutic applications validated by in vivo experiments. The most recent aspect as well as the design rationale of self-healing hydrogel for different brain diseases is also addressed.

Strongly Adhesive, Self-Healing, Hemostatic Hydrogel for the Repair of Traumatic Brain Injury

“…The self-healing ability of the hydrogels is a critical factor in the repair of TBI for the prolongation of their service life. , Therefore, a direct visual strategy was used to investigate the self-healing performance of the COCS hydrogels. When two COCS hydrogels of different colors were brought together without external intervention, they seamlessly fused into one entity within a span of 4 h (Figure A).…”

Recent advances of hydrogels as smart dressings for diabetic wounds

“…These hydrogels can repeat their hydrogel network rupture-crosslinking through dynamic crosslinking strategies such as hydrogen bonding, ion interactions, host–guest interactions, and coordination bonds. 89 In addition, the ability to self-heal allows for the property of shear thinning, enabling the hydrogel to smoothly fill deep or irregularly shaped wounds through injection. 90,91 Recently, Zhang et al reported a self-healing hydrogel composed of oxidized CS and carboxymethyl CS (Fig.…”

Potential injectable hydrogels as biomaterials for central nervous system injury: A narrative review

“…Moreover, implanted biomaterials often trigger neuro‐immune reactions, disrupting the BBB and causing inflammation with plasma and peripheral blood cells entering the ventricle. In the context of CNS injury, injectable biomaterials may be used to repair or replace damaged tissue or to deliver drugs or other therapeutic agents to specific locations within the brain 7 . Nanoparticles (NPs) and microparticles are also potent injectable biomaterials used for brain injury repair.…”