A self-healing thermogelling polymer with tunable transparency based on biomolecule alginate grafting phenylboronic acid

Thermogelling polymers with transparency, structure stability and biocompatibility are promising for biomedicine application. In this study, a thermogelling polymer P-C₅PEG with tunable transparency was developed by the reaction between alternating copolymer C₅PEG and chemically modified biomolecule Alg-PBA via boronic ester bonds. The sol-to-gel transition of P-C₅PEG aqueous solution sensitively responded to changes in temperature, and the critical value could be adjusted between 15 and 40 °C by varying the content of C₅PEG and Alg-PBA. As the weight ratio of Alg-PBA to C₅PEG was over 0.3, the transparency of as-synthesized hydrogel kept above 75 % at 37 °C. Meanwhile, immersion P-C₅PEG hydrogel in CaCl₂ solution significantly increased its mechanical strength by 3 times due to chelation effect. The shear-resistance and self-healing properties were ensured by dynamic boronic ester bonds due to the protective effect of hydrophobic gel network. As a drug delivery, P-C₅PEG hydrogel had a swelling rate of 3748.7 ± 103 % in PBS and could continuously release fluorescein sodium within 24 h. Moreover, the in vitro degradability and cytotoxicity of P-C₅PEG was confirmed. Finally, the mechanisms behind the thermogelling property and tunable transparency were revealed. Overall, this thermogelling P-C₅PEG polymer, with tunable transparency and thermo-responsiveness, exhibits great potential for biomedicine application.