Issue 39, 2018

The multifaceted nature of catechol chemistry: bioinspired pH-initiated hyaluronic acid hydrogels with tunable cohesive and adhesive properties

Abstract

The field of hydrogels has rapidly expanded in recent years. A growing theme is the development of hydrogels that are bioinspired, with tailorable physicochemical properties. Marine mussels utilize their byssus to adhere themselves to rocks and thereby decrease the turbulent buffeting of the intertidal zone. An increase in pH is a noticeable phenomenon during the mussel byssus secretion and formation processes. In this study, by mimicking the acidic-to-basic pH switch that occurs during byssus formation, a series of bioinspired, pH-initiated hyaluronic acid (HA) hydrogels that possess tunable cohesive and adhesive properties were developed. Specifically, four different kinds of hyaluronic acid (HA) hydrogel crosslinking networks were fabricated by utilizing the multifaceted nature of catechol chemistry, including metal–catechol coordination, quinone–catechol dismutation, quinone–amine Michael addition and Schiff base reactions, or quinone–thiol Michael addition reactions. Our research demonstrated that pH, as one of the most important environmental variables for mussels, plays a vital role in regulating the cohesion and adhesion behaviors. And regarding the development of new materials, this biomimetic strategy also demonstrates alternative and tunable crosslinking approaches that can overcome the limitations of current HA hydrogels.

Graphical abstract: The multifaceted nature of catechol chemistry: bioinspired pH-initiated hyaluronic acid hydrogels with tunable cohesive and adhesive properties

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
08 Jul 2018
Accepted
03 Sep 2018
First published
12 Sep 2018

J. Mater. Chem. B, 2018,6, 6234-6244

The multifaceted nature of catechol chemistry: bioinspired pH-initiated hyaluronic acid hydrogels with tunable cohesive and adhesive properties

Z. Guo, S. Mi and W. Sun, J. Mater. Chem. B, 2018, 6, 6234 DOI: 10.1039/C8TB01776J

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