INJECTION HYDROGEL

Claims

1. Injectable hydrogel comprising: - oxidized nanocrystalline cellulose, - gelatin peptide chains, wherein the oxidized nanocrystalline cellulose and gelatin peptide chains are cross-linked.

2. An injectable hydrogel according to the preceding claim, wherein the oxidized nanocrystalline cellulose and gelatin peptide chains are cross-linked with imine moieties.

3. An injectable hydrogel according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the gelatin peptide chains have a concentration of from 1.0 to 2.5% w / v before cross-linking and / or the oxidized nanocrystalline cellulose has a concentration of from 0.1 to 0.5% w / v before cross-linking.

4. An injectable hydrogel according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising from 0.5 to 2.5% w / v of cross-linked oxidized nanocrystalline cellulose and gelatin peptide chains.

5. An injectable hydrogel according to any of the preceding claims, having an elastic modulus of 10 to 220 Pa in a range of 0.1 to 10.0 Hz.

6. An injectable hydrogel according to any of the preceding claims, having a loss modulus below 10 Pa in the range of 0.1 to 10.0 Hz.

7. An injectable hydrogel according to any one of the preceding claims, having a ratio of loss modulus to elastic modulus (tan δ) greater than 10 5 at 0.1 Hz.

8. An injectable hydrogel according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the complex viscosity of the injectable hydrogel is less than 1.0 mPa s in the range of 0.1 to 10.0 Hz.

9. An injectable hydrogel according to any one of the preceding claims, having a degree of cross-linking of from 25 to 60%, preferably from 38 to 49%.

10. A method for producing an injectable hydrogel according to any of the preceding claims, comprising the following steps: - dilution of oxidized nanocrystalline cellulose in apyrogenic water; - addition of gelatin peptide chains to diluted oxidized nanocrystalline cellulose at room temperature; - interaction of gelatin peptide chains and oxidized nanocrystalline cellulose.

11. The method for producing an injection hydrogel according to claim 9, wherein the interaction step is carried out for 10–25 hours, preferably at a temperature of 15 to 25°C.

12. A method for producing an injection hydrogel according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the interaction step is carried out at a pH greater than 7 and no more than 8.

13. A method for producing an injectable hydrogel according to any one of claims 9-11, further comprising the step of diluting the gelatin peptide chains in water at 37°C and cooling the diluted gelatin peptide chains at room temperature.

14. Use of an injectable hydrogel according to any one of claims 1-9 for the treatment or relief of symptoms of osteoarthritis.

15. A syringe containing a hydrogel according to any one of claims 1-9.