Abstract
Novel antimicrobial natural polymeric hybrid hydrogels based on hyaluronic acid (HA) and spider silk (Ss) were prepared using the chemical crosslinking method. The effects of the component ratios on the hydrogel characteristics were observed parallel to the primary physicochemical characterization of the hydrogels with scanning electron microscopic imaging, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, and contact angle measurements, which confirmed the successful crosslinking, regular porous structure, exact composition, and hydrophilic properties of hyaluronic acid/spider silk-based hydrogels. Further characterizations of the hydrogels were performed with the swelling degree, enzymatic degradability, viscosity, conductivity, and shrinking ability tests. The hyaluronic acid/spider silk-based hydrogels do not show drastic cytotoxicity over human postnatal fibroblasts (HPF). Hydrogels show extraordinary antimicrobial ability on both gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria. These hydrogels could be an excellent alternative that aids in overcoming antimicrobial drug resistance, which is considered to be one of the major global problems in the biomedical industry. Hyaluronic acid/spider silk-based hydrogels are a promising material for collaborated antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory drug delivery systems for external use. The rheological properties of the hydrogels show shear-thinning properties, which suggest that the hydrogels could be applied in 3D printing, such as in the 3D printing of antimicrobial surgical meshes.
Highlights
Hydrogels are hydrophilic, three-dimensional polymer structures that can absorb amounts of water several times greater than their own weight and size [1,2,3]
Even though the effects of the component ratios on the drug delivery do not show extreme deviations, slight effects of the component ratios on the drug delivery were observed. (Supplementary Materials) These results suggest that the Ibuprofen release profiles of hyaluronic acid/spider silk-based hydrogels are optimum to use in anti-inflammatory drug delivery applications
Results demonstrate that hyaluronic acid/spider silk-based hydrogels are capable of a wide range of biomedical applications
Summary
Three-dimensional polymer structures that can absorb amounts of water several times greater than their own weight and size [1,2,3]. Hydrogels can be made from either synthetic or natural polymers. Natural polymer based hydrogels have proven that hydrogels can acquire highly stable physical, chemical, and mechanical properties in their swollen state, which has inspired scientists to develop and use new hydrogels for extraordinary applications [5,6]. Scientists use various techniques to produce novel hydrogel materials, with different approaches and techniques aimed at increasing the applicability of desirable characteristics [4,10]. The use of natural biopolymers in hydrogel synthesis has been widely discussed among researchers, which has led to the fabrication of natural polymer-based hydrogels whose natural properties and characteristics have been preserved [11,12,13]. Hydrogels are primarily synthesized via physical and chemical crosslinking of polymers [14,15,16]
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