One injection for one-week controlled release: In vitro and in vivo assessment of ultrasound-triggered drug release from injectable thermoresponsive biocompatible hydrogels

Episodic release of bioactive compounds is often necessary for appropriate biological effects under specific physiological conditions. Here, we aimed to develop an injectable, biocompatible, and thermosensitive hydrogel system for ultrasound (US)-triggered drug release. An mPEG-PLGA-BOX block copolymer hydrogel was synthesized. The viscosity of 15 wt% hydrogel is 0.03 Pa*s at 25 °C (liquid form) and 34.37 Pa*s at 37 °C (gel form). Baseline and US-responsive in vitro release profile of a small molecule (doxorubicin) and that of a large molecule (FITC-dextran), from the hydrogel, was tested. A constant baseline release was observed in vitro for 7 d. When triggered by US (1 MHz, continuous, 0.4 W/cm²), the release rate increased by approximately 70 times. Without US, the release rate returned to baseline. Baseline and US-responsive in vivo release profile of doxorubicin was tested by subcutaneous injection in the back of mice and rats. Following injection into the subcutaneous layer, in vivo results also suggested that the hydrogels remained in situ and provided a steady release for at least 7 d; in the presence of the US-trigger, in vivo release from the hydrogel increased by approximately 10 times. Therefore, the mPEG-PLGA-BOX block copolymer hydrogel may serve as an injectable, biocompatible, and thermosensitive hydrogel system that is applicable for US-triggered drug release.     

Chemical Communication and Protocell-Matrix Dynamics in Segregated Colloidosome Micro-Colonies

Despite an emerging catalogue of collective behaviours in communities of homogeneously distributed cell-like objects, microscale protocell colonies with spatially segregated populations have received minimal attention. Here, we use microfluidics to fabricate Janus-like calcium alginate hydrogel microspheres with spatially partitioned populations of enzyme-containing inorganic colloidosomes and investigate their potential as integrated platforms for domain-mediated chemical communication and programmable protocell-matrix dynamics. Diffusive chemical signalling within the segregated communities gives rise to increased initial enzyme kinetics compared with a homogeneous distribution of protocells. We employ competing enzyme-mediated hydrogel crosslinking and decrosslinking reactions in different domains of the partitioned colonies to undertake selective expulsion of a specific protocell population from the community. Our results offer new possibilities for the design and construction of spatially organized cytomimetic consortia capable of endogenous chemical processing and protocell-environment interactivity.     

Controlled Annealing in Adaptive Multicomponent Gels

We use a pH-driven annealing process to convert between co-assembled and self-sorted networks in multicomponent gels. The initially formed gels at low pH are co-assembled, with the two components coexisting within the same self-assembled structures. We use an enzymatic approach to increase the pH, resulting in a gel-to-sol transition, followed by a hydrolysis to lower the pH once again. As the pH decreases, a self-sorted network is formed by a two-stage gelation process determined by the pK_a of each component. This approach can be expanded to layered systems to generate many varied systems by changing composition and rates of pH change, adapting their microstructure and so allowing access to a far greater range of morphologies and complexity than can be achieved in single component systems.     

Simple fabrication of Cu~(2+) doped calcium alginate hydrogel filtration membrane with excellent anti-fouling and antibacterial properties

Herein,copper ion doped calcium alginate(Cu~(2+)/CaAlg) composite hydrogel filtration membranes were prepared by using natural polymer sodium alginate(NaAlg) as raw material.The thermal stability and structure of the composite membranes were characterized by thermogravimetric analysis and infrared spectroscopy.The mechanical strength,anti-fouling performance,hydrophilicity and filtration performance of the membrane were studied.The results show that Cu~(2+)/CaAlg hydrogel membrane has excelle nt mechanical properties and thermal stability.The anti-swelling ability of the membrane was greatly enhanced by doping Cu~(2+).After three alternate filtration cycles,the flux recovery rate of Cu~(2+)/CaAlg hydrogel membrane can still reach 85%,indicating that the membrane has good antipollution performance.When the operation pressure was 0.1 MPa,the rejection of coomassie brilliant blue G250 reached 99.8% with a flux of 46.3 L m ~2 h ~1,while the Na_2 SO_4 rejection was less than 10.0%.The Cu~(2+)/CaAlg membrane was recycled after 24 h in the filtration process,and its flux and rejection rate did not decrease significantly,indicating that the hydrogel membrane has long-term application potential.The Cu~(2+)/CaAlg membrane has a wide range of applications prospect in dye desalination,fine separation and biopharmaceutical technology fields.     

Protein release from interpenetrating polymer network hydrogels triggered by endogenous biomarkers

A biocompatible drug delivery system with a high-sensitive stimuli-responsive behavior is reported. Calcium alginate hydrogels interpenetrated with polyvinyl alcohol–diboronate polymer network (IPN) effectively respond to the presence of hydrogen peroxide through oxidative degradation of boronate esters. The degradation of the IPN entails the reopening of the original alginate pores, resulting in a 5–9 times increase in release rates of encapsulated proteins with molecular masses ranging from 16.7 to 66 kDa. The release can be triggered by hydrogen peroxide concentrations as low as 50 μM in the bulk solution. Alternatively, hydrogen peroxide can also be generated inside the hydrogels by incorporation of oxidase enzymes in the presence of their substrates, such as lactate, glucose, or hypoxanthine, which can serve as biomarkers of certain physiological disorders.     

“Smart” carboxymethylchitosan hydrogels crosslinked with poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) and poly(acrylic acid) for controlled drug release

Carboxymethylchitosan (CMC) hydrogels containing thermo-responsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (poly(NIPAAm)) and pH-responsive poly(acrylic acid) (poly(AA)) were prepared via a free radical polymerization in the presence of hexamethylene-1,6-di-(aminocarboxysulfonate) crosslinking agents. A proper ratio of CMC to NIPAAm and AA used in the reaction was investigated such that the thermo- and pH-responsive properties of the hydrogels were obtained. Water swelling of the hydrogels was improved when the solution pH was in basic conditions (pH 10) or the temperature was below its lower critical solution temperature (LCST). Effects of the change in solution temperature and pH on water swelling properties of the hydrogel as well as the releasing rate of an entrapped drug were also investigated. The hydrogels were not toxic and showed antibacterial activity against Straphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). The pH- and thermo-responsive properties of this novel “smart” hydrogel might be efficiently used as dual triggering mechanisms in controlled drug release applications.     

非共价键交联海藻酸钠水凝胶的制备与性能

天然多糖海藻酸钠制备的水凝胶具有优越的生物相容性和生物组织相似性,作为生物医用材料在药物控制释放、组织工程支架、抗菌材料及创伤敷料等领域发挥着越来越大的作用。本文在介绍海藻酸钠物化性质的基础上,重点综述了非共价键交联(静电作用、氢键、范德华力、亲疏水作用等)海藻酸钠水凝胶的制备方法以及性能表征方法,最后讨论了制备方法及性能表征研究中的一些需要解决的问题。     

烷基链长及肽链电荷分布对脂肽双亲分子自组装及水凝胶化的影响

The self-assembly and hydrogelation of two series of lipopeptide amphiphiles, C_nV₃K₂ (n=12, 14, 16) and C_mKV₃K (m=14, 16), were studied to determine the effects of alkyl chain length and peptide charge distribution. Both the transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) results showed that all lipopeptide molecules in both series self-assembled into nanotapes with a bilayer structure. The width of the nanotapes decreased with increasing alkyl chain lengths. At a given alkyl chain length, the width of the C_mKV₃K nanotapes was wider than that of the C_nV₃K₂ nanotapes. Based on the circular dichroism (CD) spectra of the nanotapes, all three C_nV₃K₂ molecules adopted a secondary structure of β sheet. In contrast, the secondary structure of the C_mKV₃K nanotapes comprised a mixture of α helix and β sheet. For C14KV3K, the content of the α helix structures was higher than that of the β sheet structures. Conversely, for C16KV3K, the content of the β sheet was higher than that of the α helix structures. The nanotapes of lipopeptides with long alkyl chains were narrower than those with short chains, suggesting that the increased alkyl chain hydrophobicity inhibited lateral stacking of β sheets. When compared with C_nV₃K₂, of which the two positive charges are arranged at the carbon terminal, the separate arrangement of the two positive charges in C_mKV₃K reduced electrostatic repulsion and favored lateral stacking of β sheets to produce wider nanotapes. The rheological data showed that all lipopeptides formed self-supporting hydrogels at 10 mmol·L^-1 and pH 8.4. The hydrogel strength of the lipopeptides with different alkyl chain lengths was nearly the same within a given series. Furthermore, the hydrogel strength of the lipopeptides in the C_mKV₃K series was higher than that of the lipopeptides in the C_nV₃K₂ series. The results indicated that the hydrogel rheological property was more influenced by charge arrangement at the peptide segment than by the alkyl chain length. Also, pH influenced to a great extent the self-assembly of the lipopeptides. The lipopeptides in the C_mKV₃K series were more sensitive to pH than those in the C_nV₃K₂ series.     

聚丙烯酰胺纳米复合水凝胶研究进展

传统化学交联的聚丙烯酰胺(PAM)水凝胶由于力学性能较弱,其应用范围受到很大限制。与之相比,采用纳米复合技术制备的PAM纳米复合(NC)水凝胶,不仅大幅提高了力学性能,而且在溶胀率等方面也有明显的提高。本文结合该领域近年来的研究进展,将PAM NC水凝胶分为纯物理交联和化学物理交联相结合两类,重点讨论了NC水凝胶在力学性能方面的研究结果,对溶胀率等其它方面的性能也进行了综合论述。     

Highly stretchable and self-healing hydrogels based on poly(acrylic acid) and functional POSS

Herein, we present a novel way for the production of self-healing hydrogels with stretch beyond 4200% than their initial length and relatively high tensile strength(0.1?0.25 MPa). Furthermore, the hydrogel was insensitive to notch. Even for the samples containing V-notches, a stretch of 2300% was demonstrated. The hydrogels were developed by in situ crosslinking of the self-assembled colloidal poly(acrylic acid)(PAA)/functionalized polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane(POSS) micelles. This was achieved by the addition of functionalized polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane with tertiary amines and hydroxyls(POSS-AH) into the PAA reaction solution. The POSS-AH led to micellar growth, then the dualcrosslinked network was constructed. One type of crosslink was formed by hydrogen-bonding and ionic interactions between PAA chains and POSS-AH, the other type of crosslink was formed by covalent bonds between PAA and bis(N,N'-methylenebis-acrylamide).