Temperature-adaptive hydrogel optical waveguide with soft tissue-affinity for thermal regulated interventional photomedicine

Guoyin Chen; Kai Hou; Nuo Yu; Peiling Wei; Tao Chen; Caihong Zhang; Shun Wang; Hongmei Liu; Ran Cao; Liping Zhu; Benjamin S Hsiao; Meifang Zhu

doi:10.1038/s41467-022-35440-w

Temperature-adaptive hydrogel optical waveguide with soft tissue-affinity for thermal regulated interventional photomedicine

Nat Commun. 2022 Dec 16;13(1):7789. doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-35440-w.

Authors

Guoyin Chen¹, Kai Hou², Nuo Yu¹, Peiling Wei¹, Tao Chen¹, Caihong Zhang¹, Shun Wang¹, Hongmei Liu¹, Ran Cao³, Liping Zhu¹, Benjamin S Hsiao^{1

4}, Meifang Zhu⁵

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, 2999 North Renmin Road, Shanghai, 201620, China.
² State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, 2999 North Renmin Road, Shanghai, 201620, China. houkai711@dhu.edu.cn.
³ State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, 2999 North Renmin Road, Shanghai, 201620, China. rancao@dhu.edu.cn.
⁴ Department of Chemistry, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NewYork, NY, 11794, USA.
⁵ State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, 2999 North Renmin Road, Shanghai, 201620, China. zmf@dhu.edu.cn.

Abstract

Photomedicine has gained great attention due to its nontoxicity, good selectivity and small trauma. However, owing to the limited penetration of light and difficult monitoring of the photo-media therapies, it is challenging to apply photomedical treatment in deep tissue as they may damage normal tissues. Herein, a thermal regulated interventional photomedicine based on a temperature-adaptive hydrogel fiber-based optical waveguide (THFOW) is proposed, capable of eliminating deeply seated tumor cells while lowering risks of overtemperature (causes the death of healthy cells around the tumor). The THFOW is fabricated by an integrated homogeneous-dynamic-crosslinking-spinning method, and shows a remarkable soft tissue-affinity (low cytotoxicity, swelling stability, and soft tissue-like Young's modulus). Moreover, the THFOW shows an excellent light propagation property with different wavenumbers (especially -0.32 dB cm^-1 with 915 nm laser light), and temperature-gated light propagation effect. The THFOW and relevant therapeutic strategy offer a promising application for intelligent photomedicine in deep issue.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Elastic Modulus
Hydrogels*
Musculoskeletal System*
Temperature

Substances

Hydrogels