Thermosensitive Hydrogel for Painless Wound Dressing Removal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current wound dressings and cell culture scaffolds face issues with secondary injury during removal and difficulty in separating microspheres from cultured cells due to insolubility, leading to heterogeneity and incomplete removal.
Innovation Solution
A method for preparing hydrogel compositions with thermos-sensitive and ionic reversible properties using amphiphilic triblock copolymers and polysaccharides, such as Pluronic F-127 and alginate, which can be crosslinked with metal ions to form a gel that reverses to a solution state with temperature and ion changes, allowing for easy removal and reuse.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional wound dressings are used to absorb exudate and keep the wound dry, then the wound protection function is improved, but the dressing becomes tightly attached to the wound causing secondary injury during removal
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses temperature-responsive polymers that change their physical state based on temperature. The hydrogel is in a gel state at body temperature to provide wound protection, and transitions to a sol state at lower temperatures during removal, enabling painless detachment without secondary injury
Solution Approach 2:
The wound dressing employs dynamic reversible gel-sol transitions that allow the material to adapt its properties. The dressing is firmly attached during the healing phase (gel state) but can be easily and painlessly removed when transitioning to sol state, providing both reliability and ease of operation
2Reliability
If insoluble microspheres are used for three-dimensional cell culture, then the cell culture scaffold function is improved, but the separation of microspheres from cultured cells becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs temperature-responsive microspheres that are in a gel state during cell culture to provide structural support, then transition to sol state for easy separation from cultured cells. This dynamic transition solves both the scaffold stability and cell separation requirements
Solution Approach 2:
The microspheres utilize temperature-induced phase transitions to change from gel to sol state. This parameter change enables the microspheres to maintain their scaffolding function during culture while allowing simple separation from cells through temperature reduction, improving ease of operation
3Strength
If calcium ions are crosslinked first and then physical interaction is performed in hydrogel preparation, then the crosslinking strength is improved, but a heterogeneity distribution network is formed reducing reversibility
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs physical mixing and homogeneous distribution of polymer chains before introducing crosslinking agents. This preliminary homogenization ensures uniform crosslinking throughout the hydrogel network, preventing heterogeneous structure formation while maintaining strong crosslinking
Solution Approach 2:
The patent emphasizes homogeneous mixing of polymer solutions before crosslinking to ensure uniform distribution of crosslinking sites. This homogeneity approach creates a consistent network structure that maintains both strength and reversibility, avoiding the heterogeneous distribution problem
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 hydrogel composition enables easy and non-injurious removal from wounds and cell cultures, maintaining stability and biocompatibility, and can be used in wound dressings, drug carriers, and cell scaffolds, improving clinical applications by preventing secondary damage and facilitating cell separation.
Implementation Method 1
performing a mixing process with the initial solution and an ionic crosslinking agent, wherein when the initial solution and the ionic crosslinking agent are contact, crosslinking occur to obtain the hydrogel composition
Implementation Method 2
the hydrogel composition with thermos-sensitive and ionic reversible properties, wherein the hydrogel composition with thermos-sensitive and ionic reversible properties has ordered structure
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure provides a method for preparing a hydrogel composition with thermos-sensitive and ionic reversible properties and the hydrogel composition prepared by the method. Related application products of the hydrogel composition of the present disclosure include wound dressings, drug carriers, three-dimensional cellular scaffolds, soluble microspheres, and cell capture and release systems, wherein the hydrogel composition with thermos-sensitive and ionic reversible properties has good in vitro and in vivo stability and high biocompatibility, and is non-toxic. The hydrogel composition can be removed and replaced by washing with metal chelating aqueous solution at low temperature.