Injectable, Self-Healing Hydrogel with Tunable Optical, Mechanical, and Antimicrobial Properties

Abstract

Injectable self-healing hydrogels, as implanted materials, have received great attention over the past decades. The tunable optical and mechanical properties as well as the ability to lower the risk of inflammatory responses are essential considerations for their applications in diverse bioengineering processes. In this work, we report a novel injectable self-healing hydrogel with tunable optical, mechanical, and antimicrobial properties, fabricated by a multifunctional ABA triblock copolymer gelator, poly{(4-formylphenyl methacrylate)-co-[[2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl] trimethylammonium chloride]}-b-poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-b-poly{(4-formylphenyl methacrylate)-co-[[2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl] trimethylammonium chloride]} and polyethylenimine. The self-healing capability of the hydrogel was demonstrated by rheology tests, and quantitative force measurements using a surface forces apparatus (SFA) provided molecular insights into the self-healing mechanism of Schiff base reaction. Additionally, the optical and...