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Biodegradation of high‐toughness double network hydrogels as potential materials for artificial cartilage
Author(s) -
Azuma Chinatsu,
Yasuda Kazunori,
Tanabe Yoshie,
Taniguro Hiroko,
Kanaya Fuminori,
Nakayama Atsushi,
Chen Yong Mei,
Gong Jian Ping,
Osada Yoshihito
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal of biomedical materials research part a
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.849
H-Index - 150
eISSN - 1552-4965
pISSN - 1549-3296
DOI - 10.1002/jbm.a.31043
Subject(s) - materials science , gelatin , self healing hydrogels , acrylamide , biodegradation , cellulose , toughness , bacterial cellulose , polyacrylamide , polyurethane , elastic modulus , methyl cellulose , sulfonic acid , composite material , nuclear chemistry , chemical engineering , polymer , polymer chemistry , monomer , organic chemistry , chemistry , engineering
This study evaluated biodegradation properties of four novel high‐toughness double network (DN) hydrogels as potential materials for artificial cartilage. Concerning each DN gel material, a total of 12 specimens were prepared, and 6 of the 12 specimens were examined to determine the mechanical properties without any treatments. The remaining 6 specimens were implanted into the subcutaneous tissue, using 6 mature female rabbits. At 6 weeks after implantation, the mechanical properties and the water content of the implanted specimens were measured. In the poly(2‐acrylamide‐2‐methyl‐propane sulfonic acid)/poly( N , N ′‐dimethyl acrylamide) DN gel, the ultimate stress and the tangent modulus were significantly increased from 3.10 and 0.20 MPa, respectively, to 5.40 and 0.37 MPa, respectively, with a significant reduction of the water content after implantation (94 to 91%). In the poly(2‐acrylamide‐2‐methyl‐propane sulfonic acid)/polyacrylamide DN gel and the cellulose/poly(dimethyl acrylamide) DN gel, the stress (11.4 and 1.90 MPa, respectively) and the modulus (0.30 and 1.70 MPa, respectively) or the water content rarely changed after implantation (90 and 85%, respectively). In the bacterial cellulose/gelatin DN gel, the ultimate stress was dramatically reduced from 4.30 to 1.98 MPa with a significant increase of the water content after implantation (78 to 86%). This study implied that these DN gels except for the cellulose/gelatin DN gel are potential materials that may meet the requirements of artificial cartilage. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res, 2007