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Stampoultzis T, Rana VK, Guo Y, Pioletti DP. Impact of Molecular Dynamics of Polyrotaxanes on Chondrocytes in Double-Network Supramolecular Hydrogels under Physiological Thermomechanical Stimulation. Biomacromolecules 2024; 25:1144-1152. [PMID: 38166194 PMCID: PMC10865359 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biomac.3c01132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2023] [Revised: 12/13/2023] [Accepted: 12/13/2023] [Indexed: 01/04/2024]
Abstract
Hyaline cartilage, a soft tissue enriched with a dynamic extracellular matrix, manifests as a supramolecular system within load-bearing joints. At the same time, the challenge of cartilage repair through tissue engineering lies in replicating intricate cellular-matrix interactions. This study attempts to investigate chondrocyte responses within double-network supramolecular hybrid hydrogels tailored to mimic the dynamic molecular nature of hyaline cartilage. To this end, we infused noncovalent host-guest polyrotaxanes, by blending α-cyclodextrins as host molecules and polyethylene glycol as guests, into a gelatin-based covalent matrix, thereby enhancing its dynamic characteristics. Subsequently, chondrocytes were seeded into these hydrogels to systematically probe the effects of two concentrations of the introduced polyrotaxanes (instilling different levels of supramolecular dynamism in the hydrogel systems) on the cellular responsiveness. Our findings unveiled an augmented level of cellular mechanosensitivity for supramolecular hydrogels compared to pure covalent-based systems. This is demonstrated by an increased mRNA expression of ion channels (TREK1, TRPV4, and PIEZO1), signaling molecules (SOX9) and matrix-remodeling enzymes (LOXL2). Such outcomes were further elevated upon external application of biomimetic thermomechanical loading, which brought a stark increase in the accumulation of sulfated glycosaminoglycans and collagen. Overall, we found that matrix adaptability plays a pivotal role in modulating chondrocyte responses within double-network supramolecular hydrogels. These findings hold the potential for advancing cartilage engineering within load-bearing joints.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Dominique P. Pioletti
- Laboratory of Biomechanical
Orthopedics, Institute of Bioengineering,
EPFL, Lausanne 1015, Switzerland
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2
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Uslu E, Rana VK, Guo Y, Stampoultzis T, Gorostidi F, Sandu K, Pioletti DP. Enhancing Robustness of Adhesive Hydrogels through PEG-NHS Incorporation. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2023; 15:50095-50105. [PMID: 37871154 PMCID: PMC10623379 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.3c13062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2023] [Revised: 10/05/2023] [Accepted: 10/05/2023] [Indexed: 10/25/2023]
Abstract
Tissue wounds are a significant challenge for the healthcare system, affecting millions globally. Current methods like suturing and stapling have limitations as they inadequately cover the wound, fail to prevent fluid leakage, and increase the risk of infection. Effective solutions for diverse wound conditions are still lacking. Adhesive hydrogels, on the other hand, can be a potential alternative for wound care. They offer benefits such as firm sealing without leakage, easy and rapid application, and the provision of mechanical support and flexibility. However, the in vivo durability of hydrogels is often compromised by excessive swelling and unforeseen degradation, which limits their widespread use. In this study, we addressed the durability issues of the adhesive hydrogels by incorporating acrylamide polyethylene glycol N-hydroxysuccinimide (PEG-NHS) moieties (max. 2 wt %) into hydrogels based on hydroxy ethyl acrylamide (HEAam). The results showed that the addition of PEG-NHS significantly enhanced the adhesion performance, achieving up to 2-fold improvement on various soft tissues including skin, trachea, heart, lung, liver, and kidney. We further observed that the addition of PEG-NHS into the adhesive hydrogel network improved their intrinsic mechanical properties. The tensile modulus of these hydrogels increased up to 5-fold, while the swelling ratio decreased up to 2-fold in various media. These hydrogels also exhibited improved durability under the enzymatic and oxidative biodegradation induced conditions without causing any toxicity to the cells. To evaluate its potential for clinical applications, we used PEG-NHS based hydrogels to address tracheomalacia, a condition characterized by inadequate mechanical support of the airway due to weak/malacic cartilage rings. Ex vivo study confirmed that the addition of PEG-NHS to the hydrogel network prevented approximately 90% of airway collapse compared to the case without PEG-NHS. Overall, this study offers a promising approach to enhance the durability of adhesive hydrogels by the addition of PEG-NHS, thereby improving their overall performances for various biomedical applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ece Uslu
- Laboratory
of Biomechanical Orthopaedics, Institute of Bioengineering, School
of Engineering, EPFL, Lausanne 1015, Switzerland
| | - Vijay Kumar Rana
- Laboratory
of Biomechanical Orthopaedics, Institute of Bioengineering, School
of Engineering, EPFL, Lausanne 1015, Switzerland
| | - Yanheng Guo
- Laboratory
of Biomechanical Orthopaedics, Institute of Bioengineering, School
of Engineering, EPFL, Lausanne 1015, Switzerland
| | - Theofanis Stampoultzis
- Laboratory
of Biomechanical Orthopaedics, Institute of Bioengineering, School
of Engineering, EPFL, Lausanne 1015, Switzerland
| | - François Gorostidi
- Airway
Sector, Médecine Hautement Spécialisée, Department
of Otorhinolaryngology, University Hospital
CHUV, Lausanne 1011, Switzerland
| | - Kishore Sandu
- Airway
Sector, Médecine Hautement Spécialisée, Department
of Otorhinolaryngology, University Hospital
CHUV, Lausanne 1011, Switzerland
| | - Dominique P. Pioletti
- Laboratory
of Biomechanical Orthopaedics, Institute of Bioengineering, School
of Engineering, EPFL, Lausanne 1015, Switzerland
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3
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Uslu E, Rana VK, Anagnostopoulos S, Karami P, Bergadano A, Courbon C, Gorostidi F, Sandu K, Stergiopulos N, Pioletti DP. Wet adhesive hydrogels to correct malacic trachea (tracheomalacia) A proof of concept. iScience 2023; 26:107168. [PMID: 37456833 PMCID: PMC10338288 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.107168] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2023] [Revised: 05/17/2023] [Accepted: 06/14/2023] [Indexed: 07/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Tracheomalacia (TM) is a condition characterized by a weak tracheal cartilage and/or muscle, resulting in excessive collapse of the airway in the newborns. Current treatments including tracheal reconstruction, tracheoplasty, endo- and extra-luminal stents have limitations. To address these limitations, this work proposes a new strategy by wrapping an adhesive hydrogel patch around a malacic trachea. Through a numerical model, first it was demonstrated that a hydrogel patch with sufficient mechanical and adhesion strength can preserve the trachea's physiological shape. Accordingly, a new hydrogel providing robust adhesion on wet tracheal surfaces was synthesized employing the hydroxyethyl acrylamide (HEAam) and polyethylene glycol methacrylate (PEGDMA) as main polymer network and crosslinker, respectively. Ex vivo experiments revealed that the adhesive hydrogel patches can restrain the collapsing of malacic trachea under negative pressure. This study may open the possibility of using an adhesive hydrogel as a new approach in the difficult clinical situation of tracheomalacia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ece Uslu
- Laboratory of Biomechanical Orthopedics, Institute of Bioengineering, School of Engineering, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Vijay Kumar Rana
- Laboratory of Biomechanical Orthopedics, Institute of Bioengineering, School of Engineering, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Sokratis Anagnostopoulos
- Laboratory of Hemodynamics and Cardiovascular Technology, Institute of Bioengineering, School of Engineering, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Peyman Karami
- Laboratory of Biomechanical Orthopedics, Institute of Bioengineering, School of Engineering, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | | | - Cecile Courbon
- Department of Anesthesiology, University Hospital, CHUV, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Francois Gorostidi
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Airway Sector, University Hospital, CHUV, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Kishore Sandu
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Airway Sector, University Hospital, CHUV, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Nikolaos Stergiopulos
- Laboratory of Hemodynamics and Cardiovascular Technology, Institute of Bioengineering, School of Engineering, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Dominique P. Pioletti
- Laboratory of Biomechanical Orthopedics, Institute of Bioengineering, School of Engineering, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland
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4
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Graphene Oxide Supramolecular Hybrid Hydrogels Based on Host−guest Assembled Electrostatic Cross-linker. Colloids Surf A Physicochem Eng Asp 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.colsurfa.2023.131017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
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Karami P, Rana VK, Zhang Q, Boniface A, Guo Y, Moser C, Pioletti DP. NIR Light-Mediated Photocuring of Adhesive Hydrogels for Noninvasive Tissue Repair via Upconversion Optogenesis. Biomacromolecules 2022; 23:5007-5017. [PMID: 36379034 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biomac.2c00811] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The surgical treatments of injured soft tissues lead to further injury due to the use of sutures or the surgical routes, which need to be large enough to insert biomaterials for repair. In contrast, the use of low viscosity photopolymerizable hydrogels that can be inserted with thin needles represents a less traumatic treatment and would therefore reduce the severity of iatrogenic injury. However, the delivery of light to solidify the inserted hydrogel precursor requires a direct access to it, which is mostly invasive. To circumvent this limitation, we investigate the approach of curing the hydrogel located behind biological tissues by sending near-infrared (NIR) light through the latter, as this spectral region has the largest transmittance in biological tissues. Upconverting nanoparticles (UCNPs) are incorporated in the hydrogel precursor to convert NIR transmitted through the tissues into blue light to trigger the photopolymerization. We investigated the photopolymerization process of an adhesive hydrogel placed behind a soft tissue. Bulk polymerization was achieved with local radiation of the adhesive hydrogel through a focused light system. Thus, unlike the common methods for uniform illumination, adhesion formation was achieved with local micrometer-sized radiation of the bulky hydrogel through a gradient photopolymerization phenomenon. Nanoindentation and upright microscope analysis confirmed that the proposed approach for indirect curing of hydrogels below the tissue is a gradient photopolymerization phenomenon. Moreover, we found that the hydrogel mechanical and adhesive properties can be modulated by playing with different parameters of the system such as the NIR light power and the UCNP concentration. The proposed photopolymerization of adhesive hydrogels below the tissue opens the prospect of a minimally invasive surgical treatment of injured soft tissues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peyman Karami
- Laboratory of Biomechanical Orthopaedics, Institute of Bioengineering, School of Engineering, EPFL, Lausanne1015, Switzerland
| | - Vijay Kumar Rana
- Laboratory of Biomechanical Orthopaedics, Institute of Bioengineering, School of Engineering, EPFL, Lausanne1015, Switzerland
| | - Qianyi Zhang
- Laboratory of Applied Photonics Devices, Institute of Electrical and Micro Engineering, School of Engineering, EPFL, Lausanne1015, Switzerland
| | - Antoine Boniface
- Laboratory of Applied Photonics Devices, Institute of Electrical and Micro Engineering, School of Engineering, EPFL, Lausanne1015, Switzerland
| | - Yanheng Guo
- Laboratory of Biomechanical Orthopaedics, Institute of Bioengineering, School of Engineering, EPFL, Lausanne1015, Switzerland
| | - Christophe Moser
- Laboratory of Applied Photonics Devices, Institute of Electrical and Micro Engineering, School of Engineering, EPFL, Lausanne1015, Switzerland
| | - Dominique P Pioletti
- Laboratory of Biomechanical Orthopaedics, Institute of Bioengineering, School of Engineering, EPFL, Lausanne1015, Switzerland
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Jones LM, Super EH, Batt LJ, Gasbarri M, Coppola F, Bhebhe LM, Cheesman BT, Howe AM, Král P, Coulston R, Jones ST. Broad-Spectrum Extracellular Antiviral Properties of Cucurbit[ n]urils. ACS Infect Dis 2022; 8:2084-2095. [PMID: 36062478 PMCID: PMC9578052 DOI: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.2c00186] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
Viruses are microscopic pathogens capable of causing disease and are responsible for a range of human mortalities and morbidities worldwide. They can be rendered harmless or destroyed with a range of antiviral chemical compounds. Cucurbit[n]urils (CB[n]s) are a family of macrocycle chemical compounds existing as a range of homologues; due to their structure, they can bind to biological materials, acting as supramolecular "hosts" to "guests", such as amino acids. Due to the increasing need for a nontoxic antiviral compound, we investigated whether cucurbit[n]urils could act in an antiviral manner. We have found that certain cucurbit[n]uril homologues do indeed have an antiviral effect against a range of viruses, including herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and SARS-CoV-2. In particular, we demonstrate that CB[7] is the active homologue of CB[n], having an antiviral effect against enveloped and nonenveloped species. High levels of efficacy were observed with 5 min contact times across different viruses. We also demonstrate that CB[7] acts with an extracellular virucidal mode of action via host-guest supramolecular interactions between viral surface proteins and the CB[n] cavity, rather than via cell internalization or a virustatic mechanism. This finding demonstrates that CB[7] acts as a supramolecular virucidal antiviral (a mechanism distinct from other current extracellular antivirals), demonstrating the potential of supramolecular interactions for future antiviral disinfectants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luke M. Jones
- Department
of Materials and The Henry Royce Institute, The University of Manchester, Manchester M19 3PL, United
Kingdom
| | - Elana H. Super
- Department
of Materials and The Henry Royce Institute, The University of Manchester, Manchester M19 3PL, United
Kingdom
| | - Lauren J. Batt
- Department
of Materials and The Henry Royce Institute, The University of Manchester, Manchester M19 3PL, United
Kingdom
| | - Matteo Gasbarri
- Institute
of Materials, Interfaculty Bioengineering
Institute, MXG 030 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Francesco Coppola
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Illinois at
Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60607, United States
| | - Lorraine M. Bhebhe
- Department
of Materials and The Henry Royce Institute, The University of Manchester, Manchester M19 3PL, United
Kingdom
| | - Benjamin T. Cheesman
- Aqdot
Limited, Iconix Park,
London Road, Pampisford, Cambridge CB22 3EG, United Kingdom
| | - Andrew M. Howe
- Aqdot
Limited, Iconix Park,
London Road, Pampisford, Cambridge CB22 3EG, United Kingdom
| | - Petr Král
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Illinois at
Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60607, United States,Department
of Physics and Department of Biopharmaceutical Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60607, United States
| | - Roger Coulston
- Aqdot
Limited, Iconix Park,
London Road, Pampisford, Cambridge CB22 3EG, United Kingdom
| | - Samuel T. Jones
- Department
of Materials and The Henry Royce Institute, The University of Manchester, Manchester M19 3PL, United
Kingdom,
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7
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Madl AC, Myung D. Supramolecular Host-Guest Hydrogels for Corneal Regeneration. Gels 2021; 7:163. [PMID: 34698163 PMCID: PMC8544529 DOI: 10.3390/gels7040163] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2021] [Revised: 09/28/2021] [Accepted: 09/30/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Over 6.2 million people worldwide suffer from moderate to severe vision loss due to corneal disease. While transplantation with allogenic donor tissue is sight-restoring for many patients with corneal blindness, this treatment modality is limited by long waiting lists and high rejection rates, particularly in patients with severe tissue damage and ocular surface pathologies. Hydrogel biomaterials represent a promising alternative to donor tissue for scalable, nonimmunogenic corneal reconstruction. However, implanted hydrogel materials require invasive surgeries and do not precisely conform to tissue defects, increasing the risk of patient discomfort, infection, and visual distortions. Moreover, most hydrogel crosslinking chemistries for the in situ formation of hydrogels exhibit off-target effects such as cross-reactivity with biological structures and/or result in extractable solutes that can have an impact on wound-healing and inflammation. To address the need for cytocompatible, minimally invasive, injectable tissue substitutes, host-guest interactions have emerged as an important crosslinking strategy. This review provides an overview of host-guest hydrogels as injectable therapeutics and highlights the potential application of host-guest interactions in the design of corneal stromal tissue substitutes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy C. Madl
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA;
| | - David Myung
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA;
- Byers Eye Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA 94303, USA
- VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA
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8
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Whitaker DJ, Huang Z, Longbottom BW, Sala RL, Wu G, Scherman OA. Supramolecular hydrogels prepared from fluorescent alkyl pyridinium acrylamide monomers and CB[8]. Polym Chem 2021. [DOI: 10.1039/d0py01374a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Facile synthetic methodology unlocks alkyl pyridinium acrylamide monomers for use in the construction of cucurbit[8]uril mediated dynamic, fluorescent hydrogels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel J. Whitaker
- Melville Laboratory for Polymer Synthesis
- Department of Chemistry
- University of Cambridge
- Cambridge
- UK
| | - Zehuan Huang
- Melville Laboratory for Polymer Synthesis
- Department of Chemistry
- University of Cambridge
- Cambridge
- UK
| | - Brooke W. Longbottom
- Melville Laboratory for Polymer Synthesis
- Department of Chemistry
- University of Cambridge
- Cambridge
- UK
| | - Renata L. Sala
- Melville Laboratory for Polymer Synthesis
- Department of Chemistry
- University of Cambridge
- Cambridge
- UK
| | - Guanglu Wu
- Melville Laboratory for Polymer Synthesis
- Department of Chemistry
- University of Cambridge
- Cambridge
- UK
| | - Oren A. Scherman
- Melville Laboratory for Polymer Synthesis
- Department of Chemistry
- University of Cambridge
- Cambridge
- UK
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Madl AC, Madl CM, Myung D. Injectable Cucurbit[8]uril-Based Supramolecular Gelatin Hydrogels for Cell Encapsulation. ACS Macro Lett 2020; 9:619-626. [PMID: 32523800 DOI: 10.1021/acsmacrolett.0c00184] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Recent efforts to develop hydrogel biomaterials have focused on better recapitulating the dynamic properties of the native extracellular matrix. In hydrogel biomaterials, binding thermodynamics and cross-link kinetics directly affect numerous bulk dynamic properties such as strength, stress relaxation, and material clearance. However, despite the broad range of bulk dynamic properties observed in biological tissues, present strategies to incorporate dynamic linkages in cell-encapsulating hydrogels rely on a relatively small number of dynamic covalent chemical reactions and host-guest interactions. To expand this toolkit, we report the preparation of supramolecular gelatin hydrogels with cucurbit[8]uril (CB[8])-based cross-links that form on demand via thiol-ene reactions between preassembled CB[8]·FGGC peptide ternary complexes and grafted norbornenes. Human fibroblast cells encapsulated within these optically transparent, shear thinning, injectable hydrogels remained highly viable and exhibited a well-spread morphology in culture. These CB[8]-based gelatin hydrogels are anticipated to be useful in applications ranging from bioprinting to cell and drug delivery.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - David Myung
- Byers Eye Institute at Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, California 94303, United States
- VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, California 94304, United States
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