The effect of molecular weight and chemical structure of cross-linkers on the properties of redox-responsive hyaluronic acid hydrogels.

Int J Biol Macromol

Department of Smart Green Technology Engineering, Pukyong National University, Busan 48513, South Korea; Major of Display Semiconductor Engineering, Pukyong National University, Busan 48513, South Korea. Electronic address:

Published: May 2023


Category Ranking

98%

Total Visits

921

Avg Visit Duration

2 minutes

Citations

20

Article Abstract

In this work, we investigated the effect of the size and the chemical structure of crosslinkers on the properties of hyaluronic acid-based hydrogels prepared via an inverse electron demand Diels-Alder reaction. Hydrogels having loose and dense networks were designed by cross-linkers with and without polyethylene glycol (PEG) spacers of different molecular weights (1000 and 4000 g/mol). The study showed that the properties of hydrogels such as swelling ratios (20-55 times), morphology, stability, mechanical strength (storage modulus in the range 175-858 Pa), and drug loading efficiency (87 % ~ 90 %) were greatly influenced by the addition of PEG and changing its molecular weight in the cross-linker. Particularly, the presence of PEG chains in redox- responsive crosslinkers increased the doxorubicin release (85 %, after 168 h) and the degradation rate (96 %, after 10 d) of hydrogels in the simulated reducing medium (10 mM DTT). The in vitro cytotoxicity experiments conducted for HEK-293 cells revealed that the formulated hydrogels were biocompatible, which could be a promising candidate for drug delivery applications.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.124285DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

molecular weight
8
chemical structure
8
hydrogels
6
weight chemical
4
structure cross-linkers
4
cross-linkers properties
4
properties redox-responsive
4
redox-responsive hyaluronic
4
hyaluronic acid
4
acid hydrogels
4

Similar Publications

Biomolecular dynamics in the microsecond-to-millisecond (µs-ms) timescale are linked to various biological functions, such as enzyme catalysis, allosteric regulation, and ligand recognition. In solution state NMR, Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill (CPMG) relaxation dispersion experiments are commonly used to probe µs-ms timescale motions, providing detailed kinetic, thermodynamic, and mechanistic information at the atomic level. For investigating conformational dynamics in high-molecular-weight biomolecules, methyl groups serve as ideal probes due to their favorable relaxation properties, and C CPMG relaxation dispersion is widely employed for characterizing dynamics in selectively CH-labeled samples.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Using high- and low-surface flatness fruits of Ziziphus jujuba Mill. cv. "Lingwuchangzao" at different developmental stages as test materials, this study examined the mechanisms underlying variations in fruit appearance and internal quality.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Photodegradable nanoparticles with sphere, worm, and vesicle morphologies were synthesized following polymerization induced self-assembly (PISA), incorporating a photoresponsive phenyl vinyl ketone (PVK) block and a nonphoto responsive 2-hydroxypropyl methacrylamide (HPMA) block. The photodegradation of nanoparticles under UV revealed that the initial shapes of sphere and vesicle particles are retained even until 7 h and after 24 h of photo-induced degradation, respectively, despite a significant reduction in molecular weight (M). This could be due to the assembly of degraded PVK fragments in the hydrophobic region, maintaining the relative hydrophilic to hydrophobic ratio.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Excessive gestational weight gain (GWG) is associated with various adverse pregnancy outcomes, including disruption of placental function and fetal development. Iron transport through the placenta is crucial for fetal growth, and transferrin receptor 2 (TfR2) plays a key role in iron homeostasis. However, the effect of excessive GWG on placental TfR2 expression and neonatal iron parameters remains unclear.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Diagnosis of Cytomegalovirus infection in a very low birth weight infant using metagenomic next-generation sequencing: A case report.

Medicine (Baltimore)

September 2025

The Unit of Pathogenic Fungal Infection & Host Immunity, CAS Key Laboratory of Molecular Virology and Immunology, Shanghai Institute of Immunity and Infection, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.

Rationale: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a DNA virus from the herpesvirus family that is widespread among humans. Very low birth weight infants (VLBWI) are particularly susceptible to postnatal CMV infection due to their compromised immune systems. The clinical manifestations of postnatal CMV infection are often nonspecific, which complicates early detection and may lead to multi-organ dysfunction and long-term sequelae.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF