Impact of Molecular Dynamics of Polyrotaxanes on Chondrocytes in Double-Network Supramolecular Hydrogels under Physiological Thermomechanical Stimulation
This study attempts to investigate chondrocyte responses within double-network supramolecular hybrid hydrogels tailored to mimic the dynamic molecular nature of hyaline cartilage. To this end, we infused noncovalent host-guest polyrotaxanes, by blending α-cyclodextrins as host molecules and polyethylene glycol as guests, into a gelatin-based covalent matrix, thereby enhancing its dynamic characteristics. Subsequently, chondrocytes were seeded into these hydrogels to systematically probe the effects of two concentrations of the introduced polyrotaxanes (instilling different levels of supramolecular dynamism in the hydrogel...
Source: Biomacromolecules - January 2, 2024 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Theofanis Stampoultzis Vijay Kumar Rana Yanheng Guo Dominique P Pioletti Source Type: research
Ionic Conductive Cellulose-Based Hydrogels with Superior Long-Lasting Moisture and Antifreezing Features for Flexible Strain Sensor Applications
Biomacromolecules. 2024 Jan 2. doi: 10.1021/acs.biomac.3c01011. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTNowadays, wearable devices derived from flexible conductive hydrogels have attracted enormous attention. Nevertheless, the utilization of conductive hydrogels in practical applications under extreme conditions remains a significant challenge. Herein, a series of inorganic salt-ion-enhanced conductive hydrogels (HPE-LiCl) consisting of hydroxyethyl cellulose, hydroxyethyl acrylate, lithium chloride, and ethylene glycol/water binary solvent were fabricated via a facile one-pot method. Apart from outstanding self-adhesion, high stret...
Source: Biomacromolecules - January 2, 2024 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Yafang Wang Hongyu Liu Jincheng Yu Hongjiang Liao Lin Yang Erhui Ren Shaojian Lin Jianwu Lan Source Type: research
Mimicking Charged Host-Defense Peptides to Tune the Antifungal Activity and Biocompatibility of Amphiphilic Polymers
In this study, we developed a library of 29 amphiphilic polyacrylamides with different charged units, namely, amines, guanidinium, imidazole, and carboxylic acid groups, representative of the natural amino acids lysine, arginine, histidine, and glutamic acid. Ternary polymers incorporating primary ammonium (lysine-like) or imidazole (histidine-like) groups demonstrated superior activity against Candida albicans and biocompatibility with mammalian cells compared to the polymers containing the other charged groups. Furthermore, a combination of primary ammonium, imidazole, and guanidinium (arginine-like) within the same poly...
Source: Biomacromolecules - January 2, 2024 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Sebastian Schaefer Daniele Melodia Christopher Pracey Nathaniel Corrigan Megan D Lenardon Cyrille Boyer Source Type: research
Network Viscoelasticity from Brillouin Spectroscopy
Biomacromolecules. 2023 Dec 29. doi: 10.1021/acs.biomac.3c01073. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTEven though the physical nature of shear and longitudinal moduli are different, empirical correlations between them have been reported in several biological systems. This correlation is of fundamental interest and immense practical value in biomedicine due to the importance of the shear modulus and the possibility to map the longitudinal modulus at high-resolution with all-optical spectroscopy. We investigate the origin of such a correlation in hydrogels. We hypothesize that both moduli are influenced in the same direction by und...
Source: Biomacromolecules - December 29, 2023 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Raymundo Rodr íguez-López Zuyuan Wang Haruka Oda Metecan Erdi Peter Kofinas George Fytas Giuliano Scarcelli Source Type: research
Pluronic F127-Lipoic Acid Adhesive Nanohydrogel Combining with Ce < sup > 3+ < /sup > /Tannic Acid/Ulinastatin Nanoparticles for Promoting Wound Healing
Biomacromolecules. 2023 Dec 29. doi: 10.1021/acs.biomac.3c01060. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTDeveloping strong anti-inflammatory wound dressings is of great significance for protecting inflammatory cutaneous wounds and promoting wound healing. The present study develops a nanocomposite Pluronic F127 (F127)-based hydrogel dressing with injectable, tissue adhesive, and anti-inflammatory performance. Briefly, Ce3+/tannic acid/ulinastatin nanoparticles (Ce3+/TA/UTI NPs) are fabricated. Meanwhile, α-lipoic acid is bonded to the ends of F127 to prepare F127-lipoic acid (F127LA) and its nanomicelles. Due to the gradual viscosi...
Source: Biomacromolecules - December 29, 2023 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Tao Wang Haowei Fang Subate Yalikun Jinyan Li Yuqing Pan Kunxi Zhang Jingbo Yin Haiyan Cui Source Type: research
