PEGylated Hybrid Hydrogels with Tunable Swelling Property and Biodegradability

Abstract

Hydrogels have potential in many biomedical applications, such as tissue engineering and drug delivery system, mainly because they have similar physical properties and high water content to soft tissues. In this study, we developed novel PEGylated hybrid hydrogels by a combination of methacrylated hyaluronic acid (MeHA) or n-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) with PEG-based hydrogels. We synthesized the hybrid hydrogels by free radical polymerization via UV irradiation or mild chemical crosslinking and their physicochemical properties such as swelling ratios, degradation profiles were evaluated. The data indicate that their physicochemical properties can be tunable depending on the types of PEG-based macromers and the amount of PEG macromers. In addition, their biocompatibility was also examined using zebrafish, which was one of the widely investigated model of animals The initial behavioral data suggest that the PEGylated hydrogels are biocompatible with tunable physicochemical properties, thus these novel PEGylated hybrid hydrogels may be useful as tissue engineering scaffold or drug delivery system.