| 초록 |
Phenol derivative-containing adhesive hydrogels has been widely recognized for potential biomedical applications, but conventional methods utilizing moderate/strong base, alkaline buffers, addition of oxidizing agents, or use of costly enzyme, have required alternative approaches for improved biocompatibility. In this study, we report a polymeric, enzyme-mimetic biocatalyst, hematin-grafted chitosan (chitosan-g-hem) that results in effective gelation without use of oxidizing agents or enzymes. Furthermore, the gelation occurs at a mild physiological condition. The use of chitosan-g-hem biocatalyst (0.01%, w/v) had excellent catalytic properties, forming rapid chitosan-catechol hydrogels within 5 minutes. In vivo adhesive force measurement demonstrated that the hydrogel formed by the chitosan-g-hem activity showed an increase in adhesion force (33.6 ± 5.9 kPa) compared with the same hydrogel formed by a pH-induced catechol oxidation (20.6 ± 5.5 kPa) in mouse subcutaneous tissue. Using the chitosan-g-hem biocatalyst, other catechol-functionalized polymers (hyaluronic acid-catechol and poly(vinyl alcohol)-catechol) also formed hydrogels, indicating that the chitosan-g-hem can be generally used as a polymeric catalyst for preparing catechol-containing hydrogels. |
