| Clinically, there exists a need for adhesive biomaterials. There is room to improve upon what is currently on the market as it is either too toxic, lacks the required adhesive strength and/or lacks the desired degradation properties. The general goals of this thesis all focused on designing a biomaterial which would improve upon these shortcomings while at the same time allow for modifications to meet the needs for the specific application of interest. To accomplish this task, it was important to choose the appropriate composition and crosslinking chemistry which will allow the most flexibility. Chondroitin sulfate (CS) was chosen as the principle component of the hydrogel because it is a ubiquitous glycosaminoglycan (GAG) found in almost all tissues in the body. Many variants of CS exist with each one possessing unique biological activity allowing for tight control over these properties of the material. To modulate cell migration through the adhesive, polyethylene glycol (PEG) or blood was used as the second constituent. The former made the scaffold act as a cell barrier while the ladder could be used in varying concentrations to modulate cell adhesion and migration into the biomaterial. Also, the CS and blood components are both biodegradable and degradation can be controlled using various methods.;While the constituents were chosen to allow flexibility in the biological activity and cell migration into the scaffold, the crosslinking chemistry was chosen to allow control over the mechanical properties as well as to increase tissue adhesion. By functionalizing the carboxyl groups of the GAG with N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS), the resulting chondroitin sulfate succinimidyl succinate (CS-NHS) molecule could react with primary amines on polymers to form a hydrogel as well as the primary amines on proteins comprising tissue to anchor the hydrogel to the tissue.;The material has been characterized and optimized for several applications. The applications described here include sealing of corneal wounds following cataract surgery, wound healing of the skin, and chondrogenic differentiation of hMSCs for treatment of arthritic conditions. In these applications, the CS based adhesive has shown considerable promise. |
