Key Laboratory for Space Bioscience and Biotechnology, Northwestern Polytechnical University School of Life Sciences.
Key Laboratory of Resource Biology and Biotechnology in Western China, Ministry of Education. Faculty of Life Sciences, Northwest University, 229 Taibai North Road, Xi'an 710069, China.
Theranostics. 2020 Aug 2;10(21):9843-9864. doi: 10.7150/thno.46450. eCollection 2020.
Cartilage damage is still a threat to human beings, yet there is currently no treatment available to fully restore the function of cartilage. Recently, due to their unique structures and properties, injectable hydrogels have been widely studied and have exhibited high potential for applications in therapeutic areas, especially in cartilage repair. In this review, we briefly introduce the properties of cartilage, some articular cartilage injuries, and now available treatment strategies. Afterwards, we propose the functional and fundamental requirements of injectable hydrogels in cartilage tissue engineering, as well as the main advantages of injectable hydrogels as a therapy for cartilage damage, including strong plasticity and excellent biocompatibility. Moreover, we comprehensively summarize the polymers, cells, and bioactive molecules regularly used in the fabrication of injectable hydrogels, with two kinds of gelation, i.e., physical and chemical crosslinking, which ensure the excellent design of injectable hydrogels for cartilage repair. We also include novel hybrid injectable hydrogels combined with nanoparticles. Finally, we conclude with the advances of this clinical application and the challenges of injectable hydrogels used in cartilage repair.
软骨损伤仍然是人类面临的威胁，但目前尚无治疗方法可以完全恢复软骨的功能。最近，由于其独特的结构和特性，可注射水凝胶已被广泛研究，并在治疗领域，特别是在软骨修复方面表现出很高的应用潜力。在这篇综述中，我们简要介绍了软骨的特性、一些关节软骨损伤以及目前可用的治疗策略。之后，我们提出了可注射水凝胶在软骨组织工程中的功能和基本要求，以及可注射水凝胶作为软骨损伤治疗方法的主要优点，包括强可塑性和优异的生物相容性。此外，我们全面总结了用于制备可注射水凝胶的聚合物、细胞和生物活性分子，包括物理和化学交联这两种凝胶化方法，这确保了可注射水凝胶在软骨修复方面的优异设计。我们还包括了与纳米粒子结合的新型混合可注射水凝胶。最后，我们总结了这种临床应用的进展以及可注射水凝胶在软骨修复中的挑战。
