Responsive Hyaluronic Acid–Ethylacrylamide Microgels Fabricated Using Microfluidics Technique
Volume changes of responsive microgels can probe interactions between polyelectrolytes and species of opposite charges such as peptides and proteins. We have investigated a microfluidics method to synthesize highly responsive, covalently crosslinked, hyaluronic acid microgels for such purposes. Sodi...
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MDPI AG
2022-09-01
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| Series: | Gels |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2310-2861/8/9/588 |
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| author | Marcus Wanselius Agnes Rodler Sean S. Searle Susanna Abrahmsén-Alami Per Hansson |
| author_facet | Marcus Wanselius Agnes Rodler Sean S. Searle Susanna Abrahmsén-Alami Per Hansson |
| author_sort | Marcus Wanselius |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Volume changes of responsive microgels can probe interactions between polyelectrolytes and species of opposite charges such as peptides and proteins. We have investigated a microfluidics method to synthesize highly responsive, covalently crosslinked, hyaluronic acid microgels for such purposes. Sodium hyaluronate (HA), pre-modified with ethylacrylamide functionalities, was crosslinked in aqueous droplets created with a microfluidic technique. We varied the microgel properties by changing the degree of modification and concentration of HA in the reaction mixture. The degree of modification was determined by <sup>1</sup>H NMR. Light microscopy was used to investigate the responsiveness of the microgels to osmotic stress in aqueous saline solutions by simultaneously monitoring individual microgel species in hydrodynamic traps. The permeability of the microgels to FITC-dextrans of molecular weights between 4 and 250 kDa was investigated using confocal laser scanning microscopy. The results show that the microgels were spherical with diameters between 100 and 500 µm and the responsivity tunable by changing the degree of modification and the HA concentration. Microgels were fully permeable to all investigated FITC-dextran probes. The partitioning to the microgel from an aqueous solution decreased with the increasing molecular weight of the probe, which is in qualitative agreement with theories of homogeneous gel networks. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T23:57:32Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7d4c6a99c2544f8bae852185b249d10e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2310-2861 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T23:57:32Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Gels |
| spelling | doaj.art-7d4c6a99c2544f8bae852185b249d10e2023-11-23T16:22:34ZengMDPI AGGels2310-28612022-09-018958810.3390/gels8090588Responsive Hyaluronic Acid–Ethylacrylamide Microgels Fabricated Using Microfluidics TechniqueMarcus Wanselius0Agnes Rodler1Sean S. Searle2Susanna Abrahmsén-Alami3Per Hansson4Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, SE-751 23 Uppsala, SwedenDepartment of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, SE-751 23 Uppsala, SwedenDepartment of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, SE-751 23 Uppsala, SwedenInnovation Strategies & External Liaison, Pharmaceutical Technology & Development, Operations, AstraZeneca, SE-431 83 Gothenburg, SwedenDepartment of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, SE-751 23 Uppsala, SwedenVolume changes of responsive microgels can probe interactions between polyelectrolytes and species of opposite charges such as peptides and proteins. We have investigated a microfluidics method to synthesize highly responsive, covalently crosslinked, hyaluronic acid microgels for such purposes. Sodium hyaluronate (HA), pre-modified with ethylacrylamide functionalities, was crosslinked in aqueous droplets created with a microfluidic technique. We varied the microgel properties by changing the degree of modification and concentration of HA in the reaction mixture. The degree of modification was determined by <sup>1</sup>H NMR. Light microscopy was used to investigate the responsiveness of the microgels to osmotic stress in aqueous saline solutions by simultaneously monitoring individual microgel species in hydrodynamic traps. The permeability of the microgels to FITC-dextrans of molecular weights between 4 and 250 kDa was investigated using confocal laser scanning microscopy. The results show that the microgels were spherical with diameters between 100 and 500 µm and the responsivity tunable by changing the degree of modification and the HA concentration. Microgels were fully permeable to all investigated FITC-dextran probes. The partitioning to the microgel from an aqueous solution decreased with the increasing molecular weight of the probe, which is in qualitative agreement with theories of homogeneous gel networks.https://www.mdpi.com/2310-2861/8/9/588microspheremicrogelsynthesismicrofluidicshyaluronic acidresponsiveness |
| spellingShingle | Marcus Wanselius Agnes Rodler Sean S. Searle Susanna Abrahmsén-Alami Per Hansson Responsive Hyaluronic Acid–Ethylacrylamide Microgels Fabricated Using Microfluidics Technique Gels microsphere microgel synthesis microfluidics hyaluronic acid responsiveness |
| title | Responsive Hyaluronic Acid–Ethylacrylamide Microgels Fabricated Using Microfluidics Technique |
| title_full | Responsive Hyaluronic Acid–Ethylacrylamide Microgels Fabricated Using Microfluidics Technique |
| title_fullStr | Responsive Hyaluronic Acid–Ethylacrylamide Microgels Fabricated Using Microfluidics Technique |
| title_full_unstemmed | Responsive Hyaluronic Acid–Ethylacrylamide Microgels Fabricated Using Microfluidics Technique |
| title_short | Responsive Hyaluronic Acid–Ethylacrylamide Microgels Fabricated Using Microfluidics Technique |
| title_sort | responsive hyaluronic acid ethylacrylamide microgels fabricated using microfluidics technique |
| topic | microsphere microgel synthesis microfluidics hyaluronic acid responsiveness |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2310-2861/8/9/588 |
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