High-water-content and resilient PEG-containing hydrogels with low fibrotic response.

Abstract

Hydrogels such as polyethylene glycol (PEG)-based ones are broadly used in the biomedical world. Examples include wound dressings, tissue scaffolds, medical implants, biosensors and drug or cell delivery devices. In many of these applications, robust mechanical property, high water content (or facile mass transfer) and favorable interactions with the body are often simultaneously desirable. However, the mechanical property of hydrogels often degrades rapidly after swelling or with increasing water content. Here we report a new class of PEG-based hydrogels that simultaneously possess high water content, high mechanical resilience and low fibrotic response upon subcutaneous implantation in mice. These hydrogels may therefore find broad applications in biomedicine.