Feng Letian, Liu Ruixing, Zhang Xiacong, Li Jingguo, Zhu Lei, Li Zhanrong, Li Wen, Zhang Afang
International Joint Laboratory of Biomimetic and Smart Polymers, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China.
Henan Eye Hospital, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, People's Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450003, China.
ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2021 Oct 20;13(41):49369-49379. doi: 10.1021/acsami.1c16087. Epub 2021 Oct 12.
Biomimetic scaffolds with transparent, biocompatible, and in situ-forming properties are highly desirable for corneal tissue engineering, which can deeply fill corneal stromal defects with irregular shapes and support tissue regeneration. We here engineer a novel class of corneal scaffolds from oligoethylene glycol (OEG)-based dendronized chitosans (DCs), whose aqueous solutions show intriguing sol-gel transitions triggered by physiological temperature, resulting in highly transparent hydrogels. Gelling points of these hydrogels can be easily tuned, and furthermore, their mechanical strengths can be significantly enhanced when injected into PBS at 37 °C instead of pure water. In vitro tests indicate that these DC hydrogels exhibit excellent biocompatibility and can promote proliferation and migration of keratocyte. When applied in the rabbit eyes with corneal stromal defects, in situ formed DC hydrogels play a positive effect for new tissue regeneration. Overall, this thermo-gelling DCs possess appealing features as corneal tissue substitutes with their excellent biocompatibility and unprecedented thermoresponsiveness.
具有透明、生物相容性和原位形成特性的仿生支架对于角膜组织工程非常理想，它可以深入填充不规则形状的角膜基质缺损并支持组织再生。我们在此用基于低聚乙二醇（OEG）的树枝状壳聚糖（DC）构建了一类新型角膜支架，其水溶液在生理温度下会发生有趣的溶胶-凝胶转变，从而形成高度透明的水凝胶。这些水凝胶的胶凝点可以轻松调节，此外，当在37°C下注入磷酸盐缓冲盐水（PBS）而非纯水中时，它们的机械强度会显著增强。体外测试表明，这些DC水凝胶具有出色的生物相容性，可促进角膜细胞的增殖和迁移。当应用于有角膜基质缺损的兔眼时，原位形成的DC水凝胶对新组织再生起到积极作用。总体而言，这种热凝胶化的DC作为角膜组织替代物具有吸引人的特性，具有出色的生物相容性和前所未有的热响应性。
