Hyaluronic acid colloidal gels as self-assembling elastic biomaterials.
Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a naturally occurring biodegradable polymer with a variety of applications in medicine. The use of HA as a filler or scaffold for regenerating tissues often requires improving the elastic properties of HA. This is conventionally accomplished via chemical crosslinking, which might require the generation of toxic free radicals. Although the mechanical properties of the resulting gel material can be tuned, these types of materials are static and susceptible to mechanical failure. The aim of this study was to develop a colloidal system for scaffold fabrication that is held together by physical interactions between HA nanoparticles. HA nanoparticles composed of 17 kDa HA suspended in water at different concentrations (15%, 30%, and 45% w/v, respectively) formed a stable three-dimensional (3D) colloidal gel as a result of physical entanglement of free polymer chains on the surfaces of nanoparticles. The swelling ratio, shear moduli (G), compressive failure properties, and viscosity of colloidal gels were concentration dependent. The colloidal gels also were found to exhibit dynamic and recoverable properties, thus suggesting that these "self-associating colloids" offer characteristics distinct arising from crosslinked polymers or high concentration colloids.
['Fakhari|Amir|A|', 'Phan|Quang|Q|', 'Berkland|Cory|C|']
D000465:Algorithms D001672:Biocompatible Materials D003102:Colloids D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents D004548:Elasticity D005782:Gels D006820:Hyaluronic Acid D055595:Mechanical Phenomena D008970:Molecular Weight D053758:Nanoparticles D010316:Particle Size D033081:Shear Strength D014783:Viscosity D014867:Water
hyaluronic acid colloidal gel nanoparticle