Rapid Photoinduced Self-Healing, Controllable Drug Release, Skin Adhesion Ability, and Mechanical Stability of Hydrogels Incorporating Linker-Modified Gold Nanoparticles and Nanogels
Samaneh Khodami, Mosayeb Gharakhloo, Serife Dagdelen, Piotr Fita, J. Romański, Marcin Karbarz, Zbigniew Stojek, Marcin Maćkiewicz
Abstract
High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide Appropriately modified thermoresponsive hydrogels, such as poly( N -isopropylacrylamide) hydrogels, bring an opportunity for a variety of biomedical applications. Incorporating compounds with different properties into poly( N -isopropylacrylamide) hydrogels offers opportunities to enhance their mechanical, self-healing ability, adhesiveness, thermal responsiveness, and drug release capabilities. In this study, we investigated the influence of Au–sulfur interactions on the properties of the poly( N -isopropylacrylamide) hydrogels after introducing N,N′ -bis(acryloyl)cystine (a newly synthesized cross-linker), modified gold nanoparticles, and a p(NIPAm-BISS) nanogel into the hydrogel matrix. Our findings demonstrated that poly( N -isopropylacrylamide) hydrogels with these compounds exhibited higher mechanical strength (65% tensile stress and 25% elongation), faster thermal responsiveness, controllable self-healing [85% recovery after 2 min, using a NIR laser (800 nm, 0.75 W)], skin adhesiveness, and enhanced drug release (0.08 mg·mL –1, a 93% improvement). These results may contribute to advancements in the design of temperature-responsive hydrogels tailored for specific biomedical needs, such as targeted drug delivery with the use of a NIR laser and tissue engineering.