Nowald Constantin, Penk Anja, Chiu Hsin-Yi, Bein Thomas, Huster Daniel, Lieleg Oliver
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Institute for Medical Engineering IMETUM, Technische Universität München, 85748, Garching, Germany.
Institute of Medical Physics and Biophysics, University of Leipzig, 04107, Leipzig, Germany.
Macromol Biosci. 2016 Apr;16(4):567-79. doi: 10.1002/mabi.201500353. Epub 2016 Jan 8.
Mucin glycoproteins are key components of native mucus which serves as an initial barrier in the human body against microbial attack. Mucins are able to prevent bacterial adhesion and can trap viruses. However, the weak mechanical properties of mucin solutions have so far prevented their application in a physiological environment. Here, methylcellulose biopolymers are used as mechanical adjuvants to overcome this limitation and generate a thermoresponsive mucin/methylcellulose hybrid system. The hybrid material developed combines the selective permeability properties brought about by mucins with the thermal autogelation properties of methylcellulose. As a consequence, triggered by contact with body-warm surfaces, the hybrid material rapidly forms a gel at physiological conditions, and this external temperature stimulus can also be harnessed to stimulate drug release from incorporated thermosensitive liposomes. Finally, the hybrid gel selectively retards the release of embedded molecules which can be used to further control and prolong drug release from the material.
粘蛋白糖蛋白是天然黏液的关键成分，天然黏液在人体中作为抵御微生物攻击的初始屏障。粘蛋白能够防止细菌黏附并能捕获病毒。然而，迄今为止，粘蛋白溶液较弱的机械性能阻碍了它们在生理环境中的应用。在此，甲基纤维素生物聚合物被用作机械佐剂来克服这一限制，并生成一种热响应性粘蛋白/甲基纤维素混合体系。所开发的混合材料将粘蛋白带来的选择性渗透特性与甲基纤维素的热自凝胶化特性结合在一起。因此，与体温表面接触后，该混合材料在生理条件下迅速形成凝胶，并且这种外部温度刺激还可用于刺激包封的热敏脂质体释放药物。最后，混合凝胶选择性地延缓包埋分子的释放，这可用于进一步控制和延长药物从该材料中的释放。
