Self‐healing mineralized hydrogel scaffolds for stretch‐triggered dye release

Abstract

Hydrogels, with self‐healing properties that can self‐repair spontaneously when subjected to mechanical stress, are gaining popularity in the biomedical field. Numerous attempts have been made to create distinctive hydrogels with self‐healing properties, along with stimuli‐responsiveness and biocompatibility. Several techniques exist for fabricating hydrogels, including physical and chemical crosslinking via the creation of covalent bonds, and so on. Here, we prepared self‐healing, stimuli‐responsive, mineralized hydrogel by simply dissolving Kollidon 90‐F, sodium chloride (NaCl), and potassium carbonate (K2CO3) in an aqueous solution. The dissociated CO32− replaces the water molecules from the Kollidon 90‐F polymer backbone and facilitates the cross‐linking of the polymer chain, resulting in hydrogel formation. In addition, the in‐situ produced sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) strengthens the hydrogel network. We optimized the mineralized hydrogels by taking various metal salts and different concentrations of K2CO3. The optimized hydrogel showed good stability over a period of time, was able to maintain viscoelastic properties, possessed good self‐healing ability, and showed a shape retention ability. The shear‐thinning property demonstrated by the optimized hydrogel could open a ray of hope in the bioprinting or 3D printing industry. Further, the stretch‐responsive release of dye from the Self‐healing mineralized hydrogel (SHMH) matrix confirms the mechanoresponsive behavior of the hydrogel. Overall, the findings could be utilized in the future to fabricate a stable drug delivery system that can autonomously release the drug molecules when stretched by daily processes such as joint movements.