Injectable Fibrogel for Tissue Engineering Application

Hydrogels are valuable tools in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine due to their 3D structure, good permeability, and drug-releasing properties. In particular, the injectable hydrogel has attracted considerable attention on account of its injectability with minimal invasiveness and usability for irregularly shaped sites. However, the scalable formation, together with the matching physicochemical properties and the controllable drug release rates for precise control over biophysical and biomedical cues to direct endogenous cells remain challenges. Here, we show that these shortcomings can be circumvented through an oil-free, biocompatible, biomimetic, and fully scalable fibrogel. In vitro, this fibrogel shows favorable biocompatibility and considerable vascularization abilities. The potential use of the fibrogel for advancing tissue regeneration is explored by a mice excision skin model showing that the fibrogel promotes wound healing with a rapid rate of new tissue regeneration and the appearance of de novo regenerated healthy tissue. The combination of injectability and tailorable properties of this fibrogel can be a promising approach in biomedical fields such as therapeutic delivery, medical dressing, and 3D tissue scaffolds for tissue engineering.