Adapted sterilisation for the production of thermoresponsive hydrogels for downstream wound healing applications

Daniel P. Fitzpatrick, Carmel Kealey, Damien Brady, Noel Gately

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Complex wounds can have a significant impact on a patient's life; affecting them physically, emotionally, and socially. A potential reason for these varied success of treatment outcomes could be attributed to the multifactorial interplay between genetic, immune-related, environmental, and microbial persistence factors on tissue regeneration. The amelioration of persistent factors has become a target for improving the wound healing rates; which can be achieved by incorporating biological and pharmaceutical agents into hydrogel-based systems. Hydrogels facilitate a means of delivering ameliorating agents to the target site effectively; however, conventional sterilisation techniques can pose alterations to the structural integrity of the hydrogel network. The application of high temperatures or ionizing radiation may lead to the breakage of crosslinks within the hydrogel network, warranting investigation. Establishing an efficient sterilisation protocol that does not compromise the functional properties of the hydrogels remains one of the challenges when developing a hydrogel for a specific application. The present work highlights the alterations an adapted sterilisation technique has on the downstream performance characteristics of PF127 hydrogels and identifies the mechanism behind the formation of minor impurities.

Original languageEnglish
Article number108379
JournalPolymer Testing
Volume132
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 13 Feb 2024

Keywords

  • Biomaterials
  • Complex wounds
  • Hydrogel
  • Rheology
  • Sealants
  • Tissue regeneration

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