Department of Molecular Science and Technology, Ajou University, 5 Woncheon, Yeongtong, Suwon, 443-749, Republic of Korea.
Department of Material Development, GENOSS, 906-5 Iuidong, Yeongtong, Suwon, Republic of Korea.
Carbohydr Polym. 2021 Jun 1;261:117810. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2021.117810. Epub 2021 Feb 14.
Chitosan-based hydrogels have been widely used for various biomedical applications due to their versatile properties such as biocompatibility, biodegradability, muco-adhesiveness, hemostatic effect and so on. However, the inherent rigidity and brittleness of pure chitosan hydrogels are still unmanageable, which has limited their potential use in biomaterial research. In this study, we developed in situ forming chitosan/PEG hydrogels with improved mechanical properties, using the enzymatic crosslinking reaction of horseradish peroxidase (HRP). The effect of PEG on physico-chemical properties of hybrid hydrogels was thoroughly elucidated by varying the content (0-100 %), molecular weight (4, 10 and 20 kDa) and geometry (linear, 4-arm) of the PEG derivatives. The resulting hydrogels demonstrated excellent hemostatic ability and are highly biocompatible in vivo, comparable to commercially available fibrin glue. We suggest these chitosan/PEG hybrid hydrogels with tunable physicochemical and tissue adhesive properties have great potential for a wide range of biomedical applications in the near future.
壳聚糖基水凝胶由于其良好的生物相容性、可生物降解性、粘膜粘附性、止血作用等多种特性，已被广泛应用于各种生物医学领域。然而，纯壳聚糖水凝胶固有的刚性和脆性仍然难以处理，这限制了其在生物材料研究中的潜在用途。在这项研究中，我们使用辣根过氧化物酶（HRP）的酶交联反应，开发了具有改善力学性能的原位形成的壳聚糖/PEG 水凝胶。通过改变 PEG 衍生物的含量（0-100%）、分子量（4、10 和 20 kDa）和几何形状（线性、4 臂），详细阐明了 PEG 对杂化水凝胶物理化学性质的影响。所得水凝胶表现出优异的止血能力，在体内具有高度的生物相容性，可与市售纤维蛋白胶相媲美。我们建议，这些具有可调理化和组织粘附特性的壳聚糖/PEG 杂化水凝胶在不久的将来很有可能在广泛的生物医学应用中得到应用。
