Thermally Responsive Injectable Hydrogel for Soft Tissue Repair
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Solution Overview
Problem
There is a need for biodegradable, injectable hydrogels that rapidly solidify upon injection for tissue repair, providing mechanical support and facilitating drug and cell delivery in soft tissue procedures, while also allowing for tissue regrowth and remodeling.
Innovation Solution
A composition comprising a biodegradable, biocompatible gelling polymer, ECM material, and a biocompatible porogen that dissolves in vivo within 48 hours, forming a gel at body temperature within minutes to hours, creating a porous structure supportive of cell infiltration and tissue integration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If injectable hydrogels are designed to solidify rapidly upon injection, then mechanical support and structural integrity are improved, but the complexity of fabrication and control methods increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs thermally responsive polymer compositions that undergo phase transitions at body temperature (37°C), transforming from a liquid injectable state to a solid gel state. This parameter change enables rapid solidification within minutes after injection, providing immediate mechanical support while maintaining simplicity in the formulation process.
Solution Approach 2:
The hydrogel composition utilizes phase transition of the polymer from liquid to gel state upon reaching physiological temperature. This phase change mechanism allows the material to solidify rapidly in the body without requiring complex fabrication processes, achieving both mechanical integrity and ease of delivery.
2Adaptability or versatility
If porous structure is created using dissolving porogens, then cell infiltration and tissue integration are improved, but the dissolution time must be precisely controlled to balance pore formation with structural integrity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent selects porogens with specific dissolution rates that are optimized for tissue integration. The porogen particles are designed to dissolve within a controlled time frame (hours to days) after injection, creating pores that facilitate cell infiltration while maintaining structural integrity during the critical healing period. This parameter optimization balances pore formation with temporal control.
3Duration of action of moving object
If biodegradable polymer composition is used, then tissue regrowth and remodeling are enabled, but the gelation time must be optimized to ensure rapid solidification while allowing sufficient time for cell infiltration
Solution Approach 1:
The patent formulates the polymer composition with specific molecular weight, concentration, and thermal properties to achieve optimal gelation kinetics. The composition is designed to gel within minutes after injection (providing rapid structural formation) while maintaining biodegradability that enables tissue regrowth over extended periods. This parameter optimization reconciles rapid solidification with long-term biological reliability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution enables rapid gel formation and tissue integration, promoting healing by allowing early cell infiltration and tissue remodeling, with the gel structure maintaining the implantation site's geometry and degrading safely over time.
Implementation Method 1
a biocompatible porogen that dissolves in vivo within 48 hours, or optionally within 24 hours
Implementation Method 2
the composition forms a gel at 37° C. within one hour, 30 minutes, 15 minutes, five minutes, or two minutes
Data Source
AI summary
Provided herein is an injectable hydrogel composition that forms a porous gel rapidly after injection. Methods of making and using the composition are provided. A kit also is provided comprising the ingredients for making the hydrogel.