title: A Rheological Study of Biodegradable Injectable PEGMC/HA Composite Scaffolds.
abstract: Injectable biodegradable hydrogels, which can be delivered in a minimally invasive manner and formedin situ, have found a number of applications in pharmaceutical and biomedical applications, such as drug delivery and tissue engineering. We have recently developed anin situcrosslinkable citric acid-based biodegradable poly (ethylene glycol) maleate citrate (PEGMC)/hydroxyapatite (HA) composite, which shows promise for use in bone tissue engineering. In this study, the mechanical properties of the PEGMC/HA composites were studied in dynamic linear rheology experiments. Critical parameters such as monomer ratio, crosslinker, initiator, and HA concentrations were varied to reveal their effect on the extent of crosslinking as they control the mechanical properties of the resultant gels. The rheological studies, for the first time, allowed us investigating the physical interactions between HA and citric acid-based PEGMC. Understanding the viscoelastic properties of the injectable gel composites is crucial in formulating suitable injectable PEGMC/HA scaffolds for bone tissue engineering, and should also promote the other biomedical applications based on citric acid-based biodegradable polymers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering & Materials Science, Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ 07030, USA.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jiao
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering, The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX 76010, USA ; Joint Biomedical Engineering Program, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and The University of Texas at Arlington, Dallas, TX 75390, USA.
authors.forename: Dipendra
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gyawali
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA.
authors.forename: Joseph M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Stark
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering & Materials Science, Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ 07030, USA.
authors.forename: Pinar
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Akcora
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering, The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX 76010, USA ; Joint Biomedical Engineering Program, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and The University of Texas at Arlington, Dallas, TX 75390, USA.
authors.forename: Parvathi
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Nair
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering, The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX 76010, USA ; Joint Biomedical Engineering Program, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and The University of Texas at Arlington, Dallas, TX 75390, USA.
authors.forename: Richard T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Tran
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering, The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX 76010, USA ; Joint Biomedical Engineering Program, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and The University of Texas at Arlington, Dallas, TX 75390, USA.
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yang