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Dual‐Crosslinking of Hyaluronic Acid–Calcium Phosphate Nanocomposite Hydrogels for Enhanced Mechanical Properties and Biological Performance
Author(s) -
Jeong SeolHa,
Sun JeongYun,
Kim HyounEe
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
macromolecular materials and engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.913
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1439-2054
pISSN - 1438-7492
DOI - 10.1002/mame.201700160
Subject(s) - self healing hydrogels , materials science , nanocomposite , hyaluronic acid , chemical engineering , tissue engineering , polymer chemistry , nanotechnology , biomedical engineering , medicine , genetics , engineering , biology
Herein, a facile approach for synthesizing mechanically enhanced nanocomposite hydrogels via a dual‐crosslinking process is described. Additional ionic crosslinking using various cations is introduced after an in situ precipitation process for hydroxyapatite immobilization in hyaluronic acid hydrogels (HAc–CaP). Ca 2+ , Ba 2+ , and Sr 2+ ions exhibit the highest efficiencies in reinforcing the mechanical properties of HAc–CaP hydrogels. In addition, the dual‐crosslinked HAc–CaP hydrogels promote the biological responses of preosteoblast cells, which exhibit highly stretched shapes and greatly enhanced proliferation. Furthermore, the nanocomposite hydrogels achieve enhanced bioactivity by supporting osteogenic differentiation. Thus, enhancement on both the mechanical and biological properties of hyaluronic‐acid‐based nanocomposite hydrogels is achieved through this dual‐crosslinking process, extending the potential application of these materials to hard tissue engineering.