Publications [#359628] of Stefan Zauscher

Papers Published

1. Gilpin, A; Zeng, Y; Hoque, J; Ryu, JH; Yang, Y; Zauscher, S; Eward, W; Varghese, S, Self-Healing of Hyaluronic Acid to Improve In Vivo Retention and Function., Adv Healthc Mater, vol. 10 no. 23 (December, 2021), pp. e2100777 [doi]
   (last updated on 2023/06/01)

   Abstract:
   Convergent advances in the field of soft matter, macromolecular chemistry, and engineering have led to the development of biomaterials that possess autonomous, adaptive, and self-healing characteristics similar to living systems. These rationally designed biomaterials can surpass the capabilities of their parent material. Herein, the modification of hyaluronic acid (HA) to exhibit self-healing properties is described, and its physical and biological function both in vitro and in vivo is studied. The in vitro findings showed that self-healing HA designed to undergo self-repair improves lubrication, enhances free radical scavenging, and attenuates enzymatic degradation compared to unmodified HA. Longitudinal imaging following intraarticular injection of self-healing HA shows improved in vivo retention despite its low molecular weight. Concomitant with these functions, intraarticular injection of self-healing HA mitigates anterior cruciate ligament injury-mediated cartilage degeneration in rodents. This proof-of-concept study shows how incorporation of functional properties such as self-healing can be used to surpass the existing capabilities of biolubricants.