Synthesis of Temperature/pH Dual-Responsive Double-Crosslinked Hydrogel on Medical Titanium Alloy Surface

Medical titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4V (TC4) is widely used as a surgical implant material in biomedical fields owing to its superior biocompatibility, corrosion resistance, and mechanical performance, particularly for osseous integration applications. However, long-term contact of medical titanium-based...

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Main Authors: Yutong Li, Jiaqi Wang, Shouxin Liu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-06-01
Series:Gels
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2310-2861/11/6/443
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author Yutong Li
Jiaqi Wang
Shouxin Liu
author_facet Yutong Li
Jiaqi Wang
Shouxin Liu
author_sort Yutong Li
collection DOAJ
description Medical titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4V (TC4) is widely used as a surgical implant material in biomedical fields owing to its superior biocompatibility, corrosion resistance, and mechanical performance, particularly for osseous integration applications. However, long-term contact of medical titanium-based implants with human soft tissues may induce infection and inflammation. To address these limitations, a drug-loading gel was designed to be synthesized on a TC4 surface to improve biointegration. Considering the critical regulatory roles of temperature and pH in physiological environments, this study synthesized a dual-responsive hydrogel using the temperature-sensitive monomers 2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethyl methacrylate (MEO<sub>2</sub>MA) and oligoethylene glycol methacrylate (OEGMA) and the pH-sensitive monomer diethylaminoethyl methacrylate (DEAEMA), employing stereocomplexed polylactic acid as a physical crosslinker and <i>N</i>,<i>N</i>′-methylenebisacrylamide (MBA) as a chemical crosslinker. A polydopamine-based initiator was synthesized via dopamine functionalization with 2-bromoisobutyryl bromide (BIBB). The amphiphilic co-network hydrogel was grafted onto a modified TC4 surface through atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). Integration of the drug-loading gel and TC4 gives the implant an “active therapeutic” function by localized drug release. The results demonstrated that the energy storage modulus of the double-crosslinked gel matched that of human soft tissues. The gels exhibited efficient drug release.
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spelling doaj-art-b18e0edd1e324a5b9ee3e282d6aa7b8b2025-08-20T03:27:25ZengMDPI AGGels2310-28612025-06-0111644310.3390/gels11060443Synthesis of Temperature/pH Dual-Responsive Double-Crosslinked Hydrogel on Medical Titanium Alloy SurfaceYutong Li0Jiaqi Wang1Shouxin Liu2Key Laboratory of Applied Surface and Colloid Chemistry, Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an 710119, ChinaKey Laboratory of Applied Surface and Colloid Chemistry, Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an 710119, ChinaKey Laboratory of Applied Surface and Colloid Chemistry, Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an 710119, ChinaMedical titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4V (TC4) is widely used as a surgical implant material in biomedical fields owing to its superior biocompatibility, corrosion resistance, and mechanical performance, particularly for osseous integration applications. However, long-term contact of medical titanium-based implants with human soft tissues may induce infection and inflammation. To address these limitations, a drug-loading gel was designed to be synthesized on a TC4 surface to improve biointegration. Considering the critical regulatory roles of temperature and pH in physiological environments, this study synthesized a dual-responsive hydrogel using the temperature-sensitive monomers 2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethyl methacrylate (MEO<sub>2</sub>MA) and oligoethylene glycol methacrylate (OEGMA) and the pH-sensitive monomer diethylaminoethyl methacrylate (DEAEMA), employing stereocomplexed polylactic acid as a physical crosslinker and <i>N</i>,<i>N</i>′-methylenebisacrylamide (MBA) as a chemical crosslinker. A polydopamine-based initiator was synthesized via dopamine functionalization with 2-bromoisobutyryl bromide (BIBB). The amphiphilic co-network hydrogel was grafted onto a modified TC4 surface through atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). Integration of the drug-loading gel and TC4 gives the implant an “active therapeutic” function by localized drug release. The results demonstrated that the energy storage modulus of the double-crosslinked gel matched that of human soft tissues. The gels exhibited efficient drug release.https://www.mdpi.com/2310-2861/11/6/443hydrogelmedical titanium alloydouble crosslinkingsustained drug releasetemperature/pH responsiveness
spellingShingle Yutong Li
Jiaqi Wang
Shouxin Liu
Synthesis of Temperature/pH Dual-Responsive Double-Crosslinked Hydrogel on Medical Titanium Alloy Surface
Gels
hydrogel
medical titanium alloy
double crosslinking
sustained drug release
temperature/pH responsiveness
title Synthesis of Temperature/pH Dual-Responsive Double-Crosslinked Hydrogel on Medical Titanium Alloy Surface
title_full Synthesis of Temperature/pH Dual-Responsive Double-Crosslinked Hydrogel on Medical Titanium Alloy Surface
title_fullStr Synthesis of Temperature/pH Dual-Responsive Double-Crosslinked Hydrogel on Medical Titanium Alloy Surface
title_full_unstemmed Synthesis of Temperature/pH Dual-Responsive Double-Crosslinked Hydrogel on Medical Titanium Alloy Surface
title_short Synthesis of Temperature/pH Dual-Responsive Double-Crosslinked Hydrogel on Medical Titanium Alloy Surface
title_sort synthesis of temperature ph dual responsive double crosslinked hydrogel on medical titanium alloy surface
topic hydrogel
medical titanium alloy
double crosslinking
sustained drug release
temperature/pH responsiveness
url https://www.mdpi.com/2310-2861/11/6/443
work_keys_str_mv AT yutongli synthesisoftemperaturephdualresponsivedoublecrosslinkedhydrogelonmedicaltitaniumalloysurface
AT jiaqiwang synthesisoftemperaturephdualresponsivedoublecrosslinkedhydrogelonmedicaltitaniumalloysurface
AT shouxinliu synthesisoftemperaturephdualresponsivedoublecrosslinkedhydrogelonmedicaltitaniumalloysurface