Rapidly curable hyaluronic acid-catechol hydrogels inspired by scallops as tissue adhesives for hemostasis and wound healing

Abstract

Inspired by the adhesion behavior of scallops, we grafted dopamine hydrochloride onto hyaluronic acid to prepare hydrogels with horseradish peroxidase and H2O2 as triggers. We tested the performance of the hydrogels as tissue adhesives, the results showed that with increasing concentration of horseradish peroxidase and H2O2, the gelation time of these crosslinked hydrogels decreased to about 5 s; at the same time, mechanical strength and wet adhesion strength increased. Because of the outstanding mechanical properties and wet adhesion properties, and biocompatibility on a cellular level, we further investigated the hydrogels for hemostatic testing and skin healing tests. We observed a shortened hemostasis time and significant hemostatic effect in the enzymatically active hyaluronic acid hydrogels relative to the control in rat liver defect and rat artery defect models. In a rat skin injury model, we also observed a promoting effect on skin wound repair by collagen metabolism and the formation of granulation tissue. Therefore, the hydrogel inspired by the adhesion behavior of scallops has the potential to replace sutures in wound healing.