title: Tough, in-situ thermogelling, injectable hydrogels for biomedical applications.
abstract: Injectable hydrogels are extensively used in drug delivery and tissue engineering to administer drugs, genes, growth factors and live cells. We report a method to produce tough, in-situ thermogelling, non-toxic, injectable hydrogels made of chitosan and hyaluronic acid co-crosslinked with β-glycerophophate and genipin. The gels are highly homogeneous and form within 32 min, i.e., faster than gels crosslinked with either genipin or β-glycerophophate. The shear strength of co-crosslinked hydrogels is 3.5 kPa, higher than any chitosan-based gel reported. Chondrocytes and nucleus pulposus cells thrive inside the gels and produce large amounts of collagen II. Injection in rats shows that the gels form in-vivo within a short time and remain well localized for more than one week while the rats remain healthy and active. The excellent mechanical properties, fast in-situ gelation, good biocompatibility and the ability to encapsulate live cells at physiological conditions make these hydrogels ideal for tissue engineering, especially cartilage regeneration.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mining and Materials Engineering, McGill University, Montreal, QC, H3A 0C5, Canada.
authors.forename: Ghulam
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Jalani
authors.forename: Derek H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Rosenzweig
authors.forename: Georges
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Makhoul
authors.forename: Sherif
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Abdalla
authors.forename: Renzo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cecere
authors.forename: Fiorenzo
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Vetrone
authors.forename: Lisbet
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Haglund
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cerruti
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002356:Cartilage / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development; D048271:Chitosan / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry; D019902:Chondrocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects; D003094:Collagen / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000187:drug effects; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry; D020100:Hydrogels / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000737:chemistry; D039823:Iridoids / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry; D051381:Rats; D012038:Regeneration / Q000187:drug effects*; D023822:Tissue Engineering
chemical_list: D020100:Hydrogels; D039823:Iridoids; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid; D003094:Collagen; D048271:Chitosan; C007834:genipin
keywords: crosslinking; genipin; hydrogels; in-situ thermogelling; injectable