A facile bioorthogonal chemistry-based reversible to irreversible strategy to surmount the dilemma between injectability and stability of hyaluronic acid hydrogels

Hyaluronic acid as a versatile building block for the development of biofunctional hydrogels: In vitro models and preclinical innovations

Hyaluronic acid (HyA) is a non-sulphated linear polysaccharide found abundantly in the extracellular matrix, known for its biocompatibility and versatility in tissue engineering. Chemical modifications of HyA, including methacrylate, acrylate, click chemistry, norbornene, or host-guest chemistry, are necessary for the formation of stable hydrogels with tuneable biophysical characteristics. These modifications enable precise control over stiffness, swelling, degradation, and advanced functionalities such as shear-thinning, self-healing, and injectability. Functionalisation further enhances hydrogel bioactivity, enabling controlled cell adhesion, modulation of cell behaviour, hydrogel degradation, and release profiles, as well as inflammation modulation or bacterial growth inhibition. These are achieved by conjugating proteins, peptides, antibodies, or reactive chemical groups. HyA hydrogels find broad applications both in vitro and in vivo. In vitro, HyA-based hydrogels can support the development of models to understand fundamental processes in health and mechanisms behind disease progression, serving as highly tuneable extracellular matrix mimetics. As therapeutic interventions, injectable or implantable HyA-based hydrogels have been developed to repair a range of tissues, including cartilage, bone, muscle, and skin defects. However, issues remain to be addressed before widespread adoption of HyA-based hydrogels as clinical options. Future innovations for HyA hydrogels include its establishment as an enabling technology for the delivery of novel therapeutics, with a particular focus on immunomodulatory molecules, and the development of more dynamic, tissue-mimetic HyA-based hydrogels.

Organism-Inspired Antioxidant Bioadhesive with Strong Sealing Ability to Prevent Epidural Adhesion

Epidural adhesion or epidural fibrosis is the major reason for postoperative pain, which remains a clinically challenging problem. Current physical barriers fail to provide a satisfactory therapeutic outcome mainly due to their lack of adhesion, inability to prevent fluid leakage, and exhibiting limited antioxidant properties. Herein, we fabricated a cysteine-modified bioadhesive (SECAgel) with improved sealing and antioxidant properties for epidural adhesion prevention, inspired by the organism's antioxidant systems. The resulting SECAgel showed good injectability and in situ adhesion ability, effectively covering every corner of the irregular wound. Besides, it possessed efficient sealing properties (395.2 mmHg), effectively stopping blood leakage in the rabbit carotid artery transection model. The antioxidant experiments demonstrated that the SECAgel effectively scavenged various radicals and saved the cells from oxidative stress. Two animal models were used to show that the SECAgel effectively inhibited adhesion in both situations with and without cerebrospinal fluid leakage. The RNA sequencing analysis showed that SECAgel treatment effectively inhibited the expression of key genes related to adhesion development, inflammatory response, and oxidative stress. The SECAgel, together with good biocompatibility, can be a good candidate for preventing epidural adhesion in the clinic.

A tough and bioadhesive injectable hydrogel formed with maleimidyl alginate and pristine gelatin

Injectable hydrogels have wide applications in clinical practice. However, the development of tough and bioadhesive ones based on biopolymers, along with biofriendly and robust crosslinking strategies, still represents a great challenge. Herein, we report an injectable hydrogel composed of maleimidyl alginate and pristine gelatin, for which the precursor solutions could self-crosslink via mild Michael-type addition without any catalyst or external energy upon mixing. This hydrogel is tough and bioadhesive, which can maintain intactness as well as adherence to the defect of porcine skin under fierce bending and twisting, warm water bath, and boiling water shower. Besides, it is biocompatible, bioactive and biodegradable, which could support the growth and remodeling of cells by affording an extracellular matrix-like environment. As a proof of application, we demonstrate that this hydrogel could significantly accelerate diabetic skin wound healing, thereby holding great potential in healthcare.

Dual-Modified Hyaluronic Acid for Tunable Double Cross-Linked Hydrogel Adhesives

Conventional techniques for the closure of wounds, such as sutures and staples, have significant drawbacks that can negatively impact wound healing. Tissue adhesives have emerged as promising alternatives, but poor adhesion, low mechanical properties, and toxicity have hindered their widespread clinical adoption. In this work, a dual modified, aldehyde and methacrylate hyaluronic acid (HA) biopolymer (HA-MA-CHO) has been synthesized through a simplified route for use as a double cross-linked network (DCN) hydrogel (HA-MA-CHO-DCN) adhesive for the effective closure and sealing of wounds. HA-MA-CHO-DCN cross-links in two stages: initial cross-linking of the aldehyde functionality (CHO) of HA-MA-CHO using a disulfide-containing cross-linker, 3,3'-dithiobis (propionic hydrazide) (DTPH), leading to the formation of a self-healing injectable gel, followed by further cross-linking via ultraviolet (UV) initiated polymerization of the methacrylate (MA) functionality. This hydrogel adhesive shows a stable swelling behavior and remarkable versatility as the storage modulus (G') has shown to be highly tunable (103-105 Pa) for application to many different wound environments. The new HA-MA-CHO-DCN hydrogel showed excellent adhesive properties by surpassing the burst pressure and lap-shear strength for the widely used bovine serum albumin-glutaraldehyde (BSAG) glue while maintaining excellent cell viability.