Department of Chemistry, CICECO, Aveiro Institute of Materials , University of Aveiro , 3810-193 Aveiro , Portugal.
Biomacromolecules. 2018 Jul 9;19(7):2742-2749. doi: 10.1021/acs.biomac.8b00337. Epub 2018 May 4.
Hydrogels have captivated the attention of several research and industry segments, including bioengineering, tissue engineering, implantable/wearable sensors and actuators, bioactive agent delivery, food processing, and industrial processes optimization. A common limitation of these systems is their fixed shape. The concept of hydrogel moldability is often assigned to the injectability potential of liquid precursors, and this feature is often lost right after hydrogel formation. Hydrogel modulation is a recent trend that advocates the importance of designing materials with shape fitting ability targeting on-demand responses or defect filling purposes. Here, we present a compliant and cell encapsulation-compatible hydrogel prepared from unmodified natural origin polymers with the ability to undergo extreme sequential shape alterations with high recovery of its mechanical properties. Different fragments of these hydrogels could be bonded together in spatiotemporally controlled shape- and formulation-morphing structures. This material is prepared with affordable off-the-shelf polysaccharides of natural origin using a mild and safe processing strategy based solely on polyelectrolyte complexation followed by an innovative partial coacervate compaction and dehydration step. These unique hydrogels hold potential for multifield industrial and healthcare applications. In particular, they may find application as defect filling agents or highly compliant wound healing patches for cargo release and/or cell delivery for tissue regeneration and cell-based therapies.
水凝胶引起了多个研究和工业领域的关注，包括生物工程、组织工程、可植入/可穿戴传感器和执行器、生物活性剂输送、食品加工以及工业过程优化。这些系统的一个常见限制是它们的固定形状。水凝胶可模制性的概念通常归因于液体前体的可注射性潜力，而这一特性在水凝胶形成后往往会丧失。水凝胶调制是一种新兴趋势，它强调了设计具有形状适应性的材料的重要性，目的是针对按需响应或缺陷填充的目的。在这里，我们展示了一种由未经修饰的天然来源聚合物制备的顺应性和细胞封装兼容的水凝胶，该水凝胶具有经历极端顺序形状变化的能力，同时保持其机械性能的高恢复性。这些水凝胶的不同片段可以在时空上控制形状和配方变形结构中结合在一起。这种材料是使用温和且安全的处理策略制备的，该策略仅基于聚电解质络合，然后是创新的部分共凝聚体压实和脱水步骤，使用天然来源的现成廉价多糖制备。这些独特的水凝胶具有在多领域工业和医疗保健应用中的潜力。特别是，它们可以用作缺陷填充剂或高度顺应性的伤口愈合贴片，用于货物释放和/或细胞输送，以用于组织再生和基于细胞的治疗。
