Department of Biomedical Engineering, The City College of New York, New York, NY, United States.
Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, The Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, NY, United States.
Carbohydr Polym. 2015 Dec 10;134:497-507. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2015.07.101. Epub 2015 Aug 4.
Hydrogels composed of methylcellulose are candidate materials for soft tissue reconstruction. Although photocrosslinked methylcellulose hydrogels have shown promise for such applications, gels crosslinked using reduction-oxidation (redox) initiators may be more clinically viable. In this study, methylcellulose modified with functional methacrylate groups was polymerized using an ammonium persulfate (APS)-ascorbic acid (AA) redox initiation system to produce injectable hydrogels with tunable properties. By varying macromer concentration from 2% to 4% (w/v), the equilibrium moduli of the hydrogels ranged from 1.47 ± 0.33 to 5.31 ± 0.71 kPa, on par with human adipose tissue. Gelation time was found to conform to the ISO standard for injectable materials. Cellulase treatment resulted in complete degradation of the hydrogels within 24h, providing a reversible corrective feature. Co-culture with human dermal fibroblasts confirmed the cytocompatibility of the gels based on DNA measurements and Live/Dead imaging. Taken together, this evidence indicates that APS-AA redox-polymerized methylcellulose hydrogels possess properties beneficial for use as soft tissue fillers.
由甲基纤维素组成的水凝胶是软组织重建的候选材料。尽管光交联甲基纤维素水凝胶在这些应用中显示出了前景，但使用氧化还原（redox）引发剂交联的凝胶可能更具临床可行性。在这项研究中，用功能甲基丙烯酰基改性的甲基纤维素使用过硫酸铵（APS）-抗坏血酸（AA）氧化还原引发系统聚合，制备了具有可调节性能的可注射水凝胶。通过将大分子单体浓度从 2%（w/v）变化到 4%（w/v），水凝胶的平衡模量范围从 1.47 ± 0.33kPa 到 5.31 ± 0.71kPa，与人体脂肪组织相当。凝胶时间符合可注射材料的 ISO 标准。纤维素酶处理在 24 小时内导致水凝胶完全降解，提供了可逆的矫正特性。与人类真皮成纤维细胞共培养，根据 DNA 测量和活/死成像证实了凝胶的细胞相容性。综上所述，这些证据表明 APS-AA 氧化还原聚合甲基纤维素水凝胶具有作为软组织填充剂的有益特性。
