Issue 12, 2017

Degradable and biocompatible hydrogels bearing a hindered urea bond

Abstract

A hindered urea bond (HUB), recently reported as a new type of dynamic chemical bond, can be facilely constructed by mixing an isocyanate and a hindered amine. Here, we report the use of the HUB in the design of degradable hydrogel materials for applications of stem cell encapsulation and delivery. Polyethyleneglycol (PEG) diamine was end-capped with a HUB and an allyl group in a one-pot synthesis. The resulting polymer was cross-linked to form a hydrogel under UV with the addition of a 4-arm PEG thiol and a photoinitiator. The degradation properties of the hydrogels were confirmed with NMR, GPC, weight loss, and protein release studies. We found that the degradation kinetics is dependent on the size of the N-substituents, and the one with the tert-butyl group shows complete degradation within 2 days. The new hydrogel materials were also demonstrated to be biocompatible with hMSCs, and the cell release kinetics can be facilely tuned over 5 days.

Graphical abstract: Degradable and biocompatible hydrogels bearing a hindered urea bond

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Communication
Submitted
26 Jul 2017
Accepted
30 Sep 2017
First published
02 Oct 2017

Biomater. Sci., 2017,5, 2398-2402

Degradable and biocompatible hydrogels bearing a hindered urea bond

H. Ying, J. Yen, R. Wang, Y. Lai, J. Hsu, Y. Hu and J. Cheng, Biomater. Sci., 2017, 5, 2398 DOI: 10.1039/C7BM00669A

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