(188t) PEGylated Hyaluronic Acid Hydrogels with Tunable Properties

Hyaluronic acid (HA) has been extensively studied for biomedical applications such as cartilage tissue engineering and/or drug delivery system, partly because they are involved in cellular processes such as proliferation, morphogenesis, and wound repair. Synthetic hydrogels such as polyethylene glycol (PEG), have gained popularity due to their controllable properties, which can be beneficial in material design. In this study, we hypothesized that the properties of HA hydrogels can be controlled and enhanced by combining PEG-based hydrogels. To test our hypothesis, novel biodegradable hydrogels were developed by combining HA with PEG based macromers such as PEG sebacic acid diacrylates (PEGSDA) via free radical polymerization and their physicochemical properties (e.g., swelling ratios) were evaluated. In addition, their biocompatibility was also determined using Zebrafish, which was one of the widely investigated model animals. The data suggest that the PEGylated hydrogels are biocompatible with tunable physicochemical properties, thus may be useful as tissue engineering scaffolds or drug delivery systems.