Lu Liangmei, Zhou Wen, Chen Zhuzuan, Hu Yang, Yang Yu, Zhang Guangzhao, Yang Zhuohong
College of Materials and Energy, Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China.
Department of Neurosurgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Medical College of Shantou University, 69 North Dongxia Road, Shantou 515041, China.
Gels. 2022 Apr 14;8(4):244. doi: 10.3390/gels8040244.
The increasing preference for minimally invasive surgery requires novel soft materials that are injectable, with rapid self-healing abilities, and biocompatible. Here, by utilizing the synergetic effect of hydrophobic interaction and quadruple hydrogen bonding, an injectable supramolecular hydrogel with excellent self-healing ability was synthesized. A unique ABA triblock copolymer was designed containing a central poly(ethylene oxide) block and terminal poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) block, with ureido pyrimidinone (UPy) moieties randomly incorporated (termed MA-UPy-PEO-UPy-MA). The PMMA block could offer a hydrophobic microenvironment for UPy moieties in water and thus boost the corresponding quadruple hydrogen bonding interaction of Upy-Upy dimers. Owing to the synergetic effect of hydrophobicity and quadruple hydrogen bonding interaction, the obtained MA-UPy-PEO-UPy-MA hydrogel exhibited excellent self-healing properties, and injectable capability, as well as superior mechanical strength, and therefore, it holds great promise in tissue engineering applications, including in cell support and drug release.
对微创手术日益增长的偏好需要新型的可注射、具有快速自愈能力且生物相容的软材料。在此，通过利用疏水相互作用和四重氢键的协同效应，合成了一种具有优异自愈能力的可注射超分子水凝胶。设计了一种独特的ABA三嵌段共聚物，其包含一个中央聚环氧乙烷嵌段和末端聚甲基丙烯酸甲酯（PMMA）嵌段，随机引入了脲嘧啶酮（UPy）部分（称为MA-UPy-PEO-UPy-MA）。PMMA嵌段可为水中的UPy部分提供疏水微环境，从而增强Upy-Upy二聚体相应的四重氢键相互作用。由于疏水性和四重氢键相互作用的协同效应，所制备的MA-UPy-PEO-UPy-MA水凝胶表现出优异的自愈性能、可注射能力以及卓越的机械强度，因此，它在包括细胞支持和药物释放在内的组织工程应用中具有巨大的潜力。
