Dendritic macroporous hydrogels prepared by crystal templating
View Patent ↗The present invention includes a hydrogel and a method of making a porous hydrogel by preparing an aqueous mixture of an uncrosslinked polymer and a crystallizable molecule; casting the mixture into a vessel; allowing the cast mixture to dry to form an amorphous hydrogel film; seeding the cast mixture with a seed crystal of the crystallizable molecule; growing the crystallizable molecule into a crystal structure within the uncrosslinked polymer; crosslinking the polymer around the crystal structure under conditions in which the crystal structure within the crosslinked polymer is maintained; and dissolving the crystals within the crosslinked polymer to form the porous hydrogel.
1. An apparatus comprising:
a hydrogel film having first and second opposing ends;
uncrosslinked hyaluronic acid included in the hydrogel; and
crosslinked alginate included in the hydrogel;
wherein the alginate is crosslinked with calcium and the alginate is crosslinked around the uncrosslinked hyaluronic acid.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 comprising:
a continuous pore network, connecting the first and second ends, including first and second pore portions parallel to one another; and
a compressed fiber including a ridge compressed between the first and second pore portions.
3. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the ridges include compressed hyaluronic acid.
4. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the compressed fiber is included in a plurality of compressed fibers formed among alternating valleys and ridges.
5. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the network includes a crystal.
6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the alginate is crosslinked with a calcium based salt.
7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the hydrogel further comprises at least one of a drug and a protein.
8. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein a geometrical pattern for the continuous pore network is determined in response to a ratio of the hyaluronic acid to the alginate.
9. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the hyaluronic acid is not a derivative of hyaluronic acid.
10. The apparatus of claim 1 included in a kit comprising a calcium chelator.
11. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the hydrogel film consists essentially of the uncrosslinked hyaluronic acid and the crosslinked alginate.