MedicineMaterials ScienceEngineering

Yong Li, Maoyan Xu, Hongkui Li, Fengjuan Ni, Han Xiao, Hangyu Shen, S. Zeng, Yuhui Ma, Lei Zhang

2026.1.19Advanced Healthcare Materials

DOI: 10.1002/adhm.202503936

tlooto Summary

A dynamic slide‐ring supramolecular hydrogel with dual molecular innovations: a dityrosine‐driven pH‐responsive fluorescence core in four‐arm PEG and Arginine‐Glycine‐Aspartic acid peptide (RGD) peptide‐functionalized hyperbranched polyglycerol (HPG)‐modified α‐cyclodextrin (CHR) for enhanced cell adhesion and drug loading.

Abstract

The development of intelligent hydrogels with multifunctional capabilities holds great promise for advancing medical applications. In this work, we developed a dynamic slide-ring supramolecular hydrogel with dual molecular innovations: a dityrosine (DY)-driven pH-responsive fluorescence core in four-arm PEG (4A-PD) and Arginine-Glycine-Aspartic acid peptide (RGD) peptide-functionalized hyperbranched polyglycerol (HPG)-modified α-cyclodextrin (CHR) for enhanced cell adhesion and drug loading. The host-guest interactions between 4A-PD and CHR form a network with shear-thinning, rapid self-healing, and UV-triggered covalent stabilization, enabling room-temperature extrusion-based 3D printing. The printed constructs exhibit high shape fidelity and porous architectures that promote RGD-mediated cell adhesion and proliferation. The DY core imparts the hydrogel with pH-dependent blue fluorescence (emission peak: 400 nm), allowing real-time microenvironmental monitoring. HPG modification of α-CD significantly enhances the drug-loading capacity, demonstrated by the sustained release of tobramycin (TOB) for effective infection control. In a full-thickness infected rat wound model, the TOB-loaded hydrogel accelerates wound closure (97.67% ± 0.56% by day 14), promotes collagen deposition, and modulates inflammation (reduced IL-6, increased IL-10), while enhancing angiogenesis. This multifunctional hydrogel integrates 3D printing, drug delivery, and responsive sensing, offering a versatile platform for regenerative medicine.

Citation format

LI, Yong, et al. Dynamic slide‐ring hydrogels with dityrosine‐driven ph‐responsive fluorescence: Enabling 3d printing, enhanced drug delivery and regenerative therapy. Advanced Healthcare Materials, 2026, 15(14): e03936.