In Situ Forming Supramolecular Nanofiber Hydrogel as a Biodegradable Liquid Embolic Agent for Postembolization Tissue Remodeling

Abstract

Embolic agents have been widely used to treat blood vessel abnormalities in interventional radiology as a minimally invasive procedure. However, only a few biodegradable liquid embolic agents exhibit high embolization performance, biodegradability, and operability. Herein, the design of in situ‐forming supramolecular nanofiber (SNF) hydrogels is reported as biodegradable liquid embolic agents with the assistance of Bayesian optimization through an active learning pipeline. Chemically modified gelatin with hydrogen‐bonding moieties produces fibrin‐inspired nanofiber‐based hydrogels with a high blood coagulation capacity. The low viscosity of the SNF hydrogels makes them injectable using a microcatheter, and the hydrogel shows sufficient tissue adhesion to the blood vessel walls and very weak adhesion to the catheter tubes. Moreover, the SNF hydrogels exhibit high blood compatibility, cytocompatibility, cell‐adhesive properties, and biodegradability (in vitro and in vivo). Intravascularly delivered SNF hydrogels induce embolization of rat femoral arteries. This biodegradable liquid embolic agent could be a powerful tool for interventional radiology in the treatment of various diseases, including aortic aneurysm stent grafting, gynecological diseases, and liver cancer.