Zhang Huijun, Faber Jessica, Budday Silvia, Gao Qingsen, Kuth Sonja, Zheng Kai, Boccaccini Aldo R
Institute of Biomaterials, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen, Germany.
Institute of Continuum Mechanics and Biomechanics, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen, Germany.
Biomater Adv. 2025 Feb;167:214089. doi: 10.1016/j.bioadv.2024.214089. Epub 2024 Nov 4.
Hyaluronic acid (HA), an FDA-approved natural polymer and important component of the extracellular matrix (ECM), has been widely used to develop hydrogels for cartilage regeneration. However, HA hydrogels often exhibit poor mechanical properties and unsuitable degradability, limiting their capability to support cell growth in cartilage. To overcome these challenges, this study modifies HA with a silica precursor and the coupling agent (3-Glycidyloxypropyl) trimethoxysilane (GPTMS) to develop a monophasic organic-inorganic hybrid HA-silica hydrogel. In this system, the inorganic silicate and organic HA components interpenetrate and bond covalently at the molecular level. The HA-silica hybrid hydrogel achieves a compressive modulus of 143 kPa at the highest GPTMS/HA molar ratio of 400. Additionally, in vitro cell studies show that these hybrid hydrogels have no cytotoxicity against MC3T3-E1 and ATDC-5 cells. Cell viability and morphology tests further confirm excellent cell adhesion on the hybrid scaffold. These results indicate that the developed HA-silica hybrid hydrogel is a suitable candidate for cartilage regeneration applications.
透明质酸（HA）是一种经美国食品药品监督管理局（FDA）批准的天然聚合物，也是细胞外基质（ECM）的重要组成部分，已被广泛用于开发用于软骨再生的水凝胶。然而，HA水凝胶通常表现出较差的机械性能和不合适的降解性，限制了它们在软骨中支持细胞生长的能力。为了克服这些挑战，本研究用二氧化硅前驱体和偶联剂（3-缩水甘油氧基丙基）三甲氧基硅烷（GPTMS）对HA进行改性，以开发一种单相有机-无机杂化HA-二氧化硅水凝胶。在该体系中，无机硅酸盐和有机HA组分在分子水平上相互渗透并共价键合。在GPTMS/HA摩尔比最高为400时，HA-二氧化硅杂化水凝胶的压缩模量达到143 kPa。此外，体外细胞研究表明，这些杂化水凝胶对MC3T3-E1和ATDC-5细胞无细胞毒性。细胞活力和形态测试进一步证实了细胞在杂化支架上具有良好的粘附性。这些结果表明，所开发的HA-二氧化硅杂化水凝胶是软骨再生应用的合适候选材料。
