Self-healing poly(acrylic acid) hydrogels fabricated by hydrogen bonding and Fe<sup>3+</sup> ion cross-linking for cartilage tissue engineering

doi:10.1007/s11706-023-0655-7

Front. Mater. Sci.

2023, Vol. 17

Issue (3) : 230655 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11706-023-0655-7

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Self-healing poly(acrylic acid) hydrogels fabricated by hydrogen bonding and Fe³⁺ ion cross-linking for cartilage tissue engineering

Min Kang¹, Yizhu Cheng¹, Yinchun Hu^1,²(

), Huixiu Ding¹, Hui Yang¹, Yan Wei^1,², Di Huang^1,²

¹. Research Center for Nano-Biomaterials & Regenerative Medicine, Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Biomedical Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, China
². Shanxi-Zheda Institute of Advanced Materials and Chemical Engineering, Taiyuan 030032, China

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Abstract

Autonomous self-healing hydrogels were achieved through a dynamic combination of hydrogen bonding and ferric ion (Fe³⁺) migration. N,N′-methylenebis (acrylamide) (MBA), a cross-linking agent, was added in this study. Poly(acrylic acid) (PAA)/Fe³⁺ and PAA–MBA/Fe³⁺ hydrogels were prepared by introducing Fe³⁺ into the PAA hydrogel network. The ionic bonds were formed between Fe³⁺ ions and carboxyl groups. The microstructure, mechanical properties, and composition of hydrogels were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The experimental results showed that PAA/Fe³⁺ and PAA–MBA/Fe³⁺ hydrogels healed themselves without external stimuli. The PAA/Fe³⁺ hydrogel exhibited good mechanical properties, i.e., the tensile strength of 50 kPa, the breaking elongation of 750%, and the self-healing efficiency of 82%. Meanwhile, the PAA–MBA/Fe³⁺ hydrogel had a tensile strength of 120 kPa. These fabricated hydrogels are biocompatible, which may have promising applications in cartilage tissue engineering.

Keywords poly(acrylic acid) hydrogel cartilage tissue self-healing

Corresponding Author(s): Yinchun Hu

Issue Date: 06 September 2023

Cite this article:

Min Kang,Yizhu Cheng,Yinchun Hu, et al. Self-healing poly(acrylic acid) hydrogels fabricated by hydrogen bonding and Fe³⁺ ion cross-linking for cartilage tissue engineering[J]. Front. Mater. Sci., 2023, 17(3): 230655.

URL:

https://academic.hep.com.cn/foms/EN/10.1007/s11706-023-0655-7
https://academic.hep.com.cn/foms/EN/Y2023/V17/I3/230655

Fig.1 The morphology and microstructure of (a)(b) PAA/Fe³⁺ and (c)(d) PAA?MBA/Fe³⁺.

Fig.2 FTIR spectra of PAA/Fe³⁺ hydrogel and PAA–MBA/Fe³⁺ hydrogel with different MBA contents.

Fig.3 (a) Water contents and (b) swelling ratios of PAA hydrogel, PAA/Fe³⁺ hydrogel, and PAA?MBA/Fe³⁺ hydrogel.

Fig.4 (a) Tensile stress?strain curves of PAA–MBA/Fe³⁺ hydrogels with different contents of MBA. (b) Tensile strength, (c) tensile modulus, and (d) breaking elongation values corresponding to different contents of MBA.

Fig.5 Cyclic stress?strain curves at different strains of (a) PAA/Fe³⁺ hydrogel and (b) PAA–MBA3/Fe³⁺ hydrogel. (c) Dissipated energy of PAA/Fe³⁺ hydrogel and PAA–MBA3/Fe³⁺ hydrogel at different strains. Cyclic stress?strain curves at 300% strain of (d) PAA/Fe³⁺ hydrogel and (e) PAA–MBA3/Fe³⁺ hydrogel. (f) Dissipated energy of PAA/Fe³⁺ hydrogel and PAA–MBA3/Fe³⁺ hydrogel at 300% strain.

Fig.6 Self-healing mechanism of the PAA/Fe³⁺ hydrogel.

Fig.7 (a) Mechanical stretching of the healed PAA/Fe³⁺ hydrogel. (b) Optical microscopy images of fresh cut on PAA/Fe³⁺ hydrogel and complete self-healed cracks after 5 h. (c)(d) The self-healing properties of the PAA/Fe³⁺ hydrogel.

Fig.8 (a) Optical microscopy images of the self-healing process in PAA–MBA/Fe³⁺ hydrogels at 0 min, 5 h later, and 24 h later. (b) Tensile strain?stress curves of healed PAA–MBA/Fe³⁺ hydrogels with different MBA contents. (c) Tensile strengths and HE values of original and self-healed hydrogels with different MBA contents.

Fig.9 (a) Proliferation analysis on the surface of different samples assessed by the CCK-8 method. (b) Actin filament staining of chondrocytes on the hydrogels after culturing for 1, 3, and 5 d.

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