Zhengwei Cai et al. developed an bio-mimicking hydrogel to capture dynamic biological signals for precise remodeling of soft tissue

Fig. 1. Schematic illustrations of the hydrogel formation and matching the phases (I-III) of soft tissue regeneration

Inspired by the physiological process of natural soft tissue remodeling, Cai Zhengwei, a postdoctoral fellow, innovatively designed a bio-mimicking hydrogel via thiol-ene click reaction to capture the sequentially dynamic biological signals: degradation-chemotaxis-colonization to precisely fit the inflammation-repairing-reconstruction process of soft tissue remodeling. The rat skin acute wound and mouse skin flap regeneration models in vivo revealed that the bio-mimicking hydrogel effectively promotes the macrophage polarization, collagen deposition and angiogenesis, and eventually the precise remodeling of the damaged soft tissue. The bio-mimicking hydrogel opens new avenues for the phased repair of different tissues such as nerve, myocardium, and even bone.

 

Journal page number: Bioactive Materials 2021, 6(12): 4506-4516.

Paper links: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2452199X21002152