Thermo-irreversible glycol chitosan/hyaluronic acid blend hydrogel for injectable tissue engineering

• Published in: Carbohydrate polymers Vol. 244; p. 116432
• Main Authors: Lee, Eun Joo, Kang, Eunae, Kang, Sun-Woong, Huh, Kang Moo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 15.09.2020
• Subjects: Animals; Biocompatible Materials - chemical synthesis; Biocompatible Materials - chemistry; Biocompatible Materials - therapeutic use; Cell binding affinity; Cells, Cultured; Chitosan - chemistry; Chitosan - therapeutic use; Chondrocytes; Glycol chitosan; Hyaluronic acid; Hyaluronic Acid - chemistry; Hyaluronic Acid - therapeutic use; Hydrogels - chemical synthesis; Hydrogels - chemistry; Hydrogels - therapeutic use; Injectable tissue engineering; Male; Mice; Mice, Inbred ICR; Thermo-irreversible sol-gel; Tissue Engineering; Glycol chitosan; Injectable tissue engineering; Thermo-irreversible sol-gel; Hyaluronic acid; Cell binding affinity
• ISSN: 0144-8617; 1879-1344
• DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2020.116432

•A blend thermogel (AcHA/HGC) was successfully prepared by mixing of HGC and AcHA.•The AcHA/HGC hydrogel underwent a unique thermo-irreversible sol-gel transition.•The AcHA/HGC exhibited the time-dependent improvement in mechanical strength.•The AcHA/HGC showed good biocompatibility and more effective cartilage formation. Thermogels that undergo temperature-dependent sol-gel transition have recently attracted attention as a promising biomaterial for injectable tissue engineering. However, conventional thermogels usually suffer from poor physical properties and low cell binding affinity, limiting their practical applications. Here, a simple approach for developing a new thermogel with enhanced physical properties and cell binding affinity is proposed. This thermogel (AcHA/HGC) was obtained by simple blending of a new class of polysaccharide-based thermogel, N-hexanoyl glycol chitosan (HGC), with a polysaccharide possessing good cell binding affinity, acetylated hyaluronic acid (AcHA). Gelation of AcHA/HGC was initially triggered by the thermosensitive response of HGC and gradually intensified by additional physical crosslinking mechanisms between HGC and AcHA, resulting in thermo-irreversible gelation. Compared to the thermos-reversible HGC hydrogel, the thermo-irreversible AcHA/HGC hydrogel exhibited enhanced physical stability, mechanical properties, cell binding affinity, and tissue compatibility. These results suggest that our thermo-irreversible hydrogel is a promising biomaterial for injectable tissue engineering.