Abstract

Hydrogel optical light-guides have received substantial interest for applications such as deep-tissue biosensors, optogenetic stimulation and photomedicine due to their biocompatibility, (micro)structure control and tissue-like Young's modulus. However, despite recent developments, large-scale fabrication with a continuous synthetic methodology, which could produce core-sheath hydrogel fibers with the desired optical and mechanical properties suitable for deep-tissue applications, has yet to be achieved. In this study, we report a versatile concept of integrated light-triggered dynamic wet spinning capable of continuously producing core-sheath hydrogel optical fibers with tunable fiber diameters, and mechanical and optical propagation properties. Furthermore, this concept also exhibited versatility for various kinds of core-sheath functional fibers. The wet spinning synthetic procedure and fabrication process were optimized with the rational design of the core/sheath material interface compatibility [core = poly(ethylene glycol diacrylate-co-acrylamide); sheath = Ca-alginate], optical transparency, refractive index and spinning solution viscosity. The resulting hydrogel optical fibers exhibited desirable low optical attenuation (0.18 ± 0.01 dB cm⁻¹ with 650 nm laser light), excellent biocompatibility and tissue-like Young's modulus (<2.60 MPa). The optical waveguide hydrogel fibers were successfully employed for deep-tissue cancer therapy and brain optogenetic stimulation, confirming that they could serve as an efficient versatile tool for diverse deep-tissue therapy and brain optogenetic applications.

中文翻译：

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用于光-脑/组织通信的芯鞘水凝胶纤维的集成动态湿纺

摘要

由于其生物相容性、（微）结构控制和组织样杨氏模量，水凝胶光学光导在深组织生物传感器、光遗传学刺激和光医学等应用中受到了广泛关注。然而，尽管最近取得了进展，但尚未实现采用连续合成方法进行大规模制造，该方法可以生产具有适用于深层组织应用的所需光学和机械性能的芯鞘水凝胶纤维。在这项研究中，我们报告了一种通用的集成光触发动态湿纺概念，能够连续生产具有可调光纤直径、机械和光学传播特性的芯鞘水凝胶光纤。此外，这一概念还展示了各种芯鞘功能纤维的多功能性。通过芯/鞘材料界面兼容性的合理设计[芯=聚（乙二醇二丙烯酸酯-共丙烯酰胺）；鞘 = Ca-藻酸盐]、光学透明度、折射率和纺丝溶液粘度。所得水凝胶光纤表现出理想的低光衰减（0.18 ± 0.01 dB cm ^-1与 650 nm 激光）、优异的生物相容性和组织样杨氏模量（<2.60 MPa）。光波导水凝胶纤维已成功用于深部组织癌症治疗和脑光遗传学刺激，证实它们可以作为多种深部组织治疗和脑光遗传学应用的有效多功能工具。