Flavin mononucleotide in visible light photoinitiating systems for multiple-photocrosslinking and photoencapsulation strategies

Abstract

Visible light-induced photocrosslinking techniques have attracted significant attention for their flexibility, controllability, safety, and energy conservation, especially in tissue engineering and biofabrication, compared to UV photocrosslinking. Despite these advantages, current photoinitiators are constrained by various challenges, including inadequate photoinitiation efficiency, low biocompatibility, poor water solubility, and limited compatibility with diverse crosslinking systems. Here, a water-soluble derivative of riboflavin, flavin mononucleotide (FMN^-), was used to assess its potential as an initiator in multiple-photocrosslinking systems, including radical photopolymerization, dityrosine, and ditryptophan coupling crosslinking, under blue light irradiation. Blue light irradiation facilitated an efficient electron transfer reaction between FMN^- and persulfate, owing to their suitable spectral compatibility and photoactivity. The resulting oxidizing free radicals and excited triplet state of FMN^- served as initiating active species for the multiple-photocrosslinking reactions. The combination of FMN^- and potassium persulfate (KPS) exhibited exceptional photoinitiation efficiency for various biomaterials, including silk fibroin, gelatin, poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate, and carboxymethyl cellulose modified with amino acids. Furthermore, the cytocompatibility of the FMN^-/KPS photoinitiator was demonstrated by the survival rates of 3T3-LI fibroblasts encapsulated in it, which exceeded 95 % when compared to a commercial initiator. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: By introducing persulfate, the photoinitiation efficiency of flavin mononucleotide was significantly improved. The application scenarios of flavin mononucleotide and persulfate combinations were also greatly extended, including radical photopolymerization, dityrosine, diphenylalanine, and ditryptophan coupling crosslinking. Among them, the coupling crosslinking of amino acids (di-phenylalanine, and di-tryptophan) modified carboxymethyl cellulose, to our knowledge, was first reported. The excellent cytocompatibility of cell encapsulation further proved that the combinations of flavin mononucleotide and persulfate have great potential in tissue engineering.

Keywords: Fibroblast; Flavin mononucleotide; Hydrogel; Photocrosslinking; Photoencapsulation.