Injectable Self‐Healing Natural Biopolymer‐Based Hydrogel Adhesive with Thermoresponsive Reversible Adhesion for Minimally Invasive Surgery

Abstract

Biocompatible hydrogel adhesives with multifunctional properties, including injectability, fast self-healing, and suitable on-demand detachment, are highly desired for minimally invasive procedures, but such materials are still lacking. Herein, an injectable self-healing biocompatible hydrogel adhesive with thermoresponsive reversible adhesion based on two extracellular matrix-derived biopolymers, gelatin and chondroitin sulfate, is developed to be used as a surgical adhesive for sealing or reconnecting ruptured tissues. The resulting hydrogels present good self-healing and can be conveniently injected through needles. The strong tissue adhesion at physiological temperatures originates from the Schiff base and hydrogen bonding interactions between the hydrogel and tissue that can be weakened at low temperatures, thereby easily detaching the hydrogel from the tissue in the gelation state. In vivo and ex vivo rat model show that the adhesives can effectively seal bleeding wounds and fluid leakages in the absence of sutures or staples. Specifically, a proof of concept experiment in a damaged rat liver model demonstrates the ability of the adhesives to act as a suitable laparoscopic sealant for laparoscopic surgery. Overall, the adhesive has several advantages, including low cost and ease of production and application that make it an exceptional multifunctional tissue adhesive/sealant, effective in minimally invasive surgical applications.

An injectable, self-healing, electroconductive extracellular matrix-based hydrogel for enhancing tissue repair after traumatic spinal cord injury

“…In addition to self-healing and injectability, BOCPG-3 hydrogels also exhibit excellent adhesive properties. The aldehyde groups in the hydrogel react with amino groups on the tissue surface, as previously reported [ 39 ]. As shown in Fig.…”

Stimuli-responsive temporary adhesives: enabling debonding on demand through strategic molecular design

“…Adhesive materials for use within or on the human body come with a unique set of requirements and challenges: (i) ability to join wet surfaces; (ii) clean removal without damage to tissue; (iii) biocompatibility of constituents; and (iv) mechanical robustness. 3,[20][21][22]160 One strategy to overcome all of these obstacles is to create a polymeric network with cross-linkers that can be broken down by biocompatible chemical stimuli, such as enzymes. [20][21][22][23] Mooney and coworkers reported a class of temporary adhesive materials with strategically selected polymeric hydrogels and cross-linkers that created a sturdy polymeric network with approximately 90% water.…”

“…19 For example, this type of adhesive is extremely promising for biomedical applications, where fragile surfaces, such as organs or healing wounds, must be protected during removal. [20][21][22][23] In contrast, stimuli-responsive materials that demonstrate permanent adhesion aer a stimulating event are especially useful in dentistry, 6,7 wound dressings, 5,23,24 and aerospace engineering. 25,26 Unique characteristics of stimuli-responsive temporary adhesives A stimuli-responsive adhesive is a material designed to promote the joining of two surfaces that exhibits a change in its mechanical and/or adhesive properties aer being exposed to an external stimulus or stimuli.…”

Phenol–Hyaluronic Acid Conjugates: Correlation of Oxidative Crosslinking Pathway and Adhesiveness

“…Previous research has further shown that HA is very versatile in its use in medical treatment and tissue engineering because of its high biocompatibility, biodegradability, viscoelasticity, and non-toxic characteristics [ 5 , 6 ]. These properties make HA an ideal biomaterial for injectable hydrogels, wound patches, 3D bioprinting, tissue scaffolds, and drug delivery [ 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 ].…”

“…However, the functionalized molecule has no chemical moieties with adhesive properties. These methods do not have the adhesive property needed for certain medical applications such as implant materials for surgical recovery [ 11 , 19 ]. Adhesive properties enable the research to be conducted in the past few years to develop an adhesive HA-derived hydrogel for medical treatment [ 20 ].…”