Issue 42, 2022

A mechanically robust and stable estradiol-loaded PHEMA-based hydrogel barrier for intrauterine adhesion treatment

Abstract

Estrogen combined with physical barrier therapy may be a prospective method to repair a damaged endometrium and prevent postsurgical re-adhesion in the treatment of intrauterine adhesions (IUAs), but there lacks a suitable scaffold with good biocompatibility, appropriate mechanical properties, and drug-releasing kinetics. Herein, a mechanically robust and stable barrier based on the poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PHEMA) hydrogel combined with estradiol-loaded mesoporous silica is designed. The network is formed by covalent bonds and noncovalent coordination bonds, which endow the hydrogel with superior mechanical properties to most reported PHEMA-based hydrogels. Meanwhile, the covalent bonds impart excellent stability to the hydrogel, which maintains its structure and mechanical properties in a simulated uterine fluid for 30 days. The excellent mechanical properties and stability are comparable to those of a typical barrier material intrauterine device (IUD), enabling the hydrogel to be retained in the uterus and removed intact like an IUD. In vitro and in vivo experiments show that the hydrogel possesses good biocompatibility similar to pure PHEMA hydrogels. In addition, the hydrogel releases estradiol continuously and stably, and exhibits a good therapeutic effect in promoting the proliferation of endometrial cells and inhibiting the progression of fibrosis. Therefore, the combinational advantages make the present hydrogel very promising in IUA treatment.

Graphical abstract: A mechanically robust and stable estradiol-loaded PHEMA-based hydrogel barrier for intrauterine adhesion treatment

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
16 kol 2022
Accepted
04 lis 2022
First published
04 lis 2022

J. Mater. Chem. B, 2022,10, 8684-8695

A mechanically robust and stable estradiol-loaded PHEMA-based hydrogel barrier for intrauterine adhesion treatment

X. Xie, R. Xu, H. Ouyang, S. Tan, C. Guo, X. Luo, Y. Xie, D. Wu, X. Dong, J. Wu, Y. Wang and L. Zhao, J. Mater. Chem. B, 2022, 10, 8684 DOI: 10.1039/D2TB01740G

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements