Hydrogel crosslinking by external stimuli is a versatile strategy to control and modulate hydrogel properties. Besides photonic energy, thermal energy is one of the most accessible external stimuli and widely applicable for many biomedical applications. However, conventional thermal crosslinking systems require a relatively high temperature (over 100 C) to initiate covalent bond formation. To our knowledge, there has not been a thermally tunable hydrogel crosslinking system suitable for biological applications. This work demonstrates a unique approach to utilize temperature sensitive liposomes to control and modulate hydrogel crosslinking over mild temperature range (below 50 C). Temperature sensitive liposomes were used to control the release of chemical crosslinkers by moderate temperature changes. The thermally controlled crosslinker release resulted in tunable mechanical and transport properties of the hydrogel. No significant inflammable response observed in the histology results ensured the biocompatibility of the liposome-mediated crosslinkable hydrogel. This work opens new opportunities to implement thermal energy system for control and modulate hydrogel properties.

通过外部刺激进行水凝胶交联是一种控制和调节水凝胶性能的通用策略。除了光子能，热能是最容易获得的外部刺激之一，并且广泛适用于许多生物医学应用。然而，传统的热交联系统需要相对较高的温度（超过 100 摄氏度）来引发共价键的形成。据我们所知，目前还没有适用于生物应用的热可调水凝胶交联系统。这项工作展示了一种利用温度敏感脂质体在温和温度范围（低于 50°C）内控制和调节水凝胶交联的独特方法。温度敏感性脂质体用于通过适度的温度变化来控制化学交联剂的释放。热控交联剂释放导致水凝胶的机械和传输性能可调。在组织学结果中没有观察到显着的易燃反应，这确保了脂质体介导的可交联水凝胶的生物相容性。这项工作为实施热能系统以控制和调节水凝胶特性提供了新的机会。