Capanema Nádia Sueli Vieira, Mansur Alexandra Ancelmo Piscitelli, Carvalho Isadora Cota, Carvalho Sandhra Maria, Mansur Herman Sander
Center of Nanoscience, Nanotechnology and Innovation-CeNano2I, Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Federal University of Minas Gerais, UFMG, Av. Presidente Antônio Carlos, 6627-Escola de Engenharia, Belo Horizonte 31270-901, MG, Brazil.
Departamento de Engenharia Agrícola, Universidade Federal de Lavras, UFLA, Lavras 37203-202, MG, Brazil.
Gels. 2023 Feb 18;9(2):166. doi: 10.3390/gels9020166.
The burden of chronic wounds is growing due to the increasing incidence of trauma, aging, and diabetes, resulting in therapeutic problems and increased medical costs. Thus, this study reports the synthesis and comprehensive characterization of water-responsive hybrid hydrogels based on carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) using citric acid (CA) as the chemical crosslinking agent, with tunable physicochemical properties suitable to be applied as a wound dressing for soft tissue engineering applications. They were produced through an eco-friendly process under mild conditions. The hydrogels were designed and produced with flexible swelling degree properties through the selection of CMC molecular mass (Mw = 250 and 700 kDa) and degree of functionalization (DS = 0.81), degree of hydrolysis of PVA (DH > 99%, Mw = 84-150 kDa) associated with synthesis parameters, CMC/PVA ratio and extension of chemical crosslinking (CA/CMC:PVA ratio), for building engineered hybrid networks. The results demonstrated that highly absorbent hydrogels were produced with swelling degrees ranging from 100% to 5000%, and gel fraction from 40% to 80%, which significantly depended on the concentration of CA crosslinker and the presence of PVA as the CMC-based network modifier. The characterizations indicated that the crosslinking mechanism was mostly associated with the chemical reaction of CA carboxylic groups with hydroxyl groups of CMC and PVA polymers forming ester bonds, rendering a hybrid polymeric network. These hybrid hydrogels also presented hydrophilicity, permeability, and structural features dependent on the degree of crosslinking and composition. The hydrogels were cytocompatible with in vitro cell viability responses of over 90% towards model cell lines. Hence, it is envisioned that this research provides a simple strategy for producing biocompatible hydrogels with tailored properties as wound dressings for assisting chronic wound healing and skin tissue engineering applications.
由于创伤、老龄化和糖尿病发病率的不断上升，慢性伤口的负担日益加重，这导致了治疗难题和医疗成本的增加。因此，本研究报道了以羧甲基纤维素（CMC）和聚乙烯醇（PVA）为基础、柠檬酸（CA）作为化学交联剂的水响应性混合水凝胶的合成及全面表征，其具有可调节的物理化学性质，适合用作软组织工程应用的伤口敷料。它们是在温和条件下通过环保工艺制备的。通过选择CMC分子量（Mw = 250和700 kDa）、功能化程度（DS = 0.81）、PVA的水解度（DH > 99%，Mw = 84 - 150 kDa）以及合成参数、CMC/PVA比例和化学交联程度（CA/CMC:PVA比例），设计并制备了具有灵活溶胀度特性的水凝胶，以构建工程化混合网络。结果表明，制备出了高吸水性水凝胶，其溶胀度范围为100%至5000%，凝胶分数为40%至80%，这显著取决于CA交联剂的浓度以及作为基于CMC网络改性剂的PVA的存在。表征结果表明，交联机制主要与CA羧基与CMC和PVA聚合物的羟基发生化学反应形成酯键有关，从而形成混合聚合物网络。这些混合水凝胶还表现出取决于交联程度和组成的亲水性、渗透性和结构特征。这些水凝胶与模型细胞系的体外细胞活力响应具有细胞相容性，细胞活力超过90%。因此，可以预想，本研究为制备具有定制性质的生物相容性水凝胶提供了一种简单策略，可作为伤口敷料用于辅助慢性伤口愈合和皮肤组织工程应用。
