Large abrasions and deeper ulcers of the cornea can lead to corneal scarring, ulceration and thinning if not promptly and adequately treated. Hyaluronic acid (HA) has been investigated for the treatment of corneal wounds due to its remarkable biocompatibility, transparency and mucoadhesive properties. However, intact linear HA has low retention time on the cornea and chemical crosslinkers to synthesize HA hydrogels can cause toxicity limiting their clinical ocular applications. Here, we used supramolecular HA hydrogels formed by non-covalent host-guest interactions between HA-cyclodextrin and HA-adamantane to evaluate the impact of the hydrogels on corneal wound healing. Supramolecular HA hydrogels facilitated adhesion and spreading of encapsulated human corneal epithelial cells ex vivo and improved corneal wound healing in vivo as an in situ-formed, acellular therapeutic membrane. The HA hydrogels were absorbed within the corneal stroma over time, modulated mesenchymal cornea stromal cell secretome production, reduced cellularity and inflammation of the anterior stroma, and significantly mitigated corneal edema compared to treatment with linear HA and untreated control eyes. Taken together, our results demonstrate supramolecular HA hydrogels as a promising and versatile biomaterial platform for corneal wound healing.

如果不及时和充分治疗，大面积擦伤和更深的角膜溃疡会导致角膜瘢痕、溃疡和变薄。透明质酸 (HA) 因其显着的生物相容性、透明性和粘膜粘附特性​​而被研究用于治疗角膜伤口。然而，完整的线性 HA 在角膜上的保留时间很短，合成 HA 水凝胶的化学交联剂会导致毒性，从而限制其临床眼部应用。在这里，我们使用由 HA-环糊精和 HA-金刚烷之间的非共价主客体相互作用形成的超分子 HA 水凝胶来评估水凝胶对角膜伤口愈合的影响。超分子透明质酸水凝胶促进体外包裹的人角膜上皮细胞的粘附和扩散，并改善体内角膜伤口愈合。原位形成的无细胞治疗膜。随着时间的推移，HA 水凝胶被角膜基质吸收，调节间充质角膜基质细胞分泌组的产生，减少前基质的细胞结构和炎症，与线性 HA 治疗和未治疗的对照眼相比，显着减轻角膜水肿。总之，我们的结果表明超分子 HA 水凝胶是一种用于角膜伤口愈合的有前途的多功能生物材料平台。