title: Toward the development of partially biodegradable and injectable thermoresponsive hydrogels for potential biomedical applications.
abstract: A series of hydrogels containing a biodegradable dextran (Dex) chain grafted with a hydrophobic poly(-caprolactone)-2-hydroxylethyl methacrylate (PCL-HEMA) chain and a thermoresponsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) chain were synthesized. The molecular weight of PCL-HEMA was determined by gel permeation chromatography, and the inner morphology of the hydrogel was observed by scanning electron microscopy. The release profiles from the hydrogels were investigated using bovine serum albumen as a model drug. It was found that the release behavior could be adjusted by varying the composition of the hydrogel. In vitro cytotoxicity studies of the hydrogels showed that the copolymer Dex-PCL-HEMA/PNIPAAm exhibited low cytotoxicity. The in vivo degradation and histological studies demonstrated that the hydrogels had good biocompatibility and were promising for use as an injectable polymeric scaffold for tissue engineering applications.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Biomedical Polymers of Ministry of Education, Department of Chemistry, Wuhan University, Wuhan, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: De-Qun
authors.initials: DQ
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Fen
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Qiu
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Xue-Jun
authors.initials: XJ
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Xian-Zheng
authors.initials: XZ
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Ren-Xi
authors.initials: RX
authors.lastname: Zhuo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D002460:Cell Line; D002470:Cell Survival; D003911:Dextrans / Q000737:chemistry; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D020100:Hydrogels / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology; D007273:Injections, Intramuscular; D007279:Injections, Subcutaneous; D008049:Lipase / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D035002:Lower Extremity; D008422:Materials Testing; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D019906:Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Biomolecular; D044367:Phase Transition; D011091:Polyesters / Q000737:chemistry*; D011109:Polymethacrylic Acids / Q000737:chemistry*; D051381:Rats; D012212:Rheology; D012710:Serum Albumin, Bovine / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D003911:Dextrans; D020100:Hydrogels; D011091:Polyesters; D011109:Polymethacrylic Acids; C547181:poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate)-co-polycaprolactone; D012710:Serum Albumin, Bovine; D008049:Lipase