Sustainable superlubricity achieved by thermosensitive and degradable hydrogel under ocular conditions
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Sustainable lubrication of biomedicine hydrogels with high stability is important for their application in dry eye disease (DED) treatment, remaining challenge to achieve. We report a novel strategy to achieve sustainable superlubricity under ocular conditions based on the degradation of the thermosensitive P-CnPEG hydrogel. Firstly, through adjusting the composition and chemical structure of P-CnPEG complex, its aqueous solution undergoes an adaptive sol-to-gel transition at 25.1 °C during heating, forming a gel state upon injection onto the ocular surface (35 °C). Besides, the obtained P-CnPEG hydrogel at 35 °C also shows superior performance, such as shear resistance, high transmittance (> 80%), rapid swelling, self-healing and Ca2+ responsiveness, making it well suitable for ocular applications. Then, in the tear environment of DED patients with high reactive oxygen species (ROS) content, P-CnPEG hydrogel degrades within 6 days through the broken of the crosslinking sites. Degradation solution of each day presents ultra-low coefficients of friction (COF) under ocular conditions through the hydration effect. Finally, the excellent biocompatibility of the hydrogel demonstrates its potential for ocular applications. This study systematically discusses the mechanism of sustainable degradation-induced superlubricity of P-CnPEG hydrogel, introducing a novel and promising strategy for DED treatment.
Source: Friction
Authors: Hongdong Wang, Qi Wang, Jian Wang, Kunpeng Wang, Junyu Wang, Xiacong Zhang, Hang Chen, Xuerui Chen, Yuhong Liu, Junjie Xiao, Jianhua Zhang, Jianbin Luo
Language: English
Subfield: Molecular Medicine
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7092971677