Polymer hydrogels for the vitreous cavity may result in unsatisfactory gel formation, uncontrollable swelling, and potential cytotoxicity. Their application significantly weakens the filling effect and causes serious side effects to surrounding tissues. To solve these problems, Sichuan University constructed a poly (glycol) engineered hydrogel capable of rapid in situ gel formation (less than 1 minute), with ultra-low swelling rate, and no cytotoxicity to rabbit eyes, which was constructed as a vitreous substitute. In this work, to construct an ultra-rapid prototyping hydrogel, the authors designed a polygonal functional peg modified with thiols and maleimide to prepare a peg engineered hydrogel by Michael addition reaction. When injecting an 8-arm polyethylene glycol solution with a thiol end (8-arm peg-sh) and an 8-arm polyethylene glycol solution with a maleimide end (8-arm peg-mal) simultaneously into the vitreous cavity, a double syringe, due to sufficient reaction groups and high reaction efficiency, the hydrogel is formed at an ultra-fast speed (<1 min). This hydrogel has excellent compatibility in the eyes of rabbits for 6 months and remains transparent without biodegradation. Repaired well and no re-disengagement occurred. < span="" > the authors screened out the appropriate concentration of hydrogel, showing a complete and ultra-rapid response. The absence of residual peg clusters may contribute to the low toxicity of hydrogels. Therefore, the novel hydrogel can be a promising candidate for AVB, and it is worth further studying long-term intraocular implantation.
Figure 1. Physico-chemical properties of hydrogels.
Figure 2 Observe the extraocular biocompatibility of the hydrogel.
Figure 7 (a1-a5) h&e staining images of the retina, (b1-b5) ciliary body, and (c1-c5) optic nerve.
The paper was published in j. mater. chem. b". The correspondence writers are Sichuan University Ming Zhang and Jun Cao.
bibliography:
doi.org/10.1039/d1tb01825f