Crosslinking substrate regulates frictional properties of tissue-engineered cartilage and chondrocyte response to loading
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Hydrogels are frequently used in regenerative medicine due to their hydrated, tissue-compatible nature, and tuneable mechanics. While many strategies enable bulk mechanical modulation, little attention is given to tuning surface tribology, and its impact on cellular behavior under mechanical stimuli. Here, we demonstrate that photocrosslinking hydrogels on hydrophobic substrates leads to significant, long-lasting reductions in surface friction, ideal for cartilage tissue regeneration. Gelatin methacryloyl and hyaluronic acid methacrylate hydrogels photocrosslinked on polytetrafluoroethylene possess more hydrated, lubricious surfaces, with lower friction coefficients and crosslinking densities than those crosslinked on glass. This facilitated self-lubrication via water exudation, limiting shear during biaxial stimulation. When subject to intermittent biaxial loading mimicking joint movement, low-friction chondrocyte-laden neo-tissues formed superior hyaline cartilage, confirming the benefits of reduced friction on tissue development. Finally, in situ photocrosslinking enabled precise hydrogel formation in a full-thickness cartilage defect, highlighting the clinical potential and emphasizing the importance of crosslinking substrate in regenerative medicine.
Date Issued
2025-03-27
Date Acceptance
2025-03-14
Citation
Communications Materials, 2025, 6
ISSN
2662-4443
Publisher
Nature Portfolio
Journal / Book Title
Communications Materials
Volume
6
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2025 Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/40162094
PII: 781
Subjects
Bioinspired materials
Biomedical engineering
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
England
Article Number
55
Date Publish Online
2025-03-27