User‐demand fast‐curable ocular glues enforced by multilength tunable networks

Abstract

Achieving fast and secure wound closure without ocular foreign body sensation is highly desired in ophthalmologic surgery. Sutureless approaches using tissue adhesives are gaining popularity, but their practical use is limited by the difficulty in controlling adhesion time and satisfying safety standards without compromising adhesive performance. Herein, we report user-demand hydrogel-forming ocular glues based on multilength photo-crosslinkable hyaluronic acid (HA), achieving firm tissue adhesion under wet and dynamic conditions and possessing cornea-like optical transparency.The HA-based photocurable glue (HA photoglue) quickly seals wounds upon nontoxic low-energy light exposure (320-500 nm, < 5 s, < 1 J cm À2 ), and its mechanical and adhesive properties are improved by introducing short and long crosslinkable moieties into HA through one-step synthesis, forming multilength networks. Furthermore, the HA photoglue provides stable sealing in wet environments like ocular mucous surface, a clear vision with a light transmittance of more than 95% over the entire visible range, and a lubricating surface with minimal ocular sensation (generating less than 10% frictional force than suture groups). In a rabbit corneal incision model, the HA photoglue showed improved wound healing efficacy based on histological evaluation compared to control groups.

Application of Convergent Science and Technology toward Ocular Disease Treatment

“…As the gold standard, sutures have been used for laceration repair in ophthalmology, while their application is very time-consuming and challenging and needs technical expertise. Additionally, sutured areas may cause numerous potential complications (e.g., leakage, inflammation, secondary damage, and secondary infection) [ 129 ]. TAs contribute promising advantages in ophthalmic surgery to overcome the drawback of sutures [ 130 ].…”

“…In another study, photo-crosslinkable hyaluronic acid (HA)-based Tas with cornea-like optical transparency was successfully synthesized to achieve firm tissue adhesion under dynamic and wet environments. HA-based Tas demonstrated an enhanced wound healing activity in the rabbit corneal incision model ( Figure 5 ) [ 129 ].…”

“…The scores are referred to as follows: 3 (Severe), 2 (Moderate), 1 (Mild), and 0 (Negligible) ( D ). Reprinted from [ 129 ].…”

3D bioprinting of stromal cells-laden artificial cornea based on visible light-crosslinkable bioinks forming multilength networks

“…Owing to its high cytocompatibility, biodegradability, and availability with a wide range of molecular weights (MWs) (10-8000 kDa), HA-based hydrogels have attracted attention as one of the top candidates for the matrix component of bioinks. In addition, the free hydroxyl (-OH) or carboxylic acid (-COOH) groups in HA can be utilized as modifiable targets to improve their structural organization and physiochemical characteristics [22][23][24]. Although the use of HA-based hydrogels for 3D bioprinting has increased [25][26][27][28][29], reports on their application in developing corneal constructs are limited.…”

“…To prepare HA hydrogels, the photocrossliking of HA after introducing photocrosslinkable moieties such as methacrylate groups into HA (HAMA) was widely used due to the rapid crosslinking and controllable crosslinking ratio [23,24,[31][32][33]. With the digital light processing (DLP)-based bioprinting technique, photocrosslinkable polymers, such as poly (ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) [34] or gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) [35] can be used to fabricate cell-laden 3D hydrogels for complex tissue engineering.…”