Fig. 2: Design route, characterization, and mechanism of GaCuVan&HACHO-BSA hydrogel.
A Schematic illustration for the formation of GaCuVan&HACHO-BSA hydrogel, which forms the dual-network hydrogel (Created in BioRender. Chen, H. (2025) https://BioRender.com/40cd8b9). B Gelation time after addition of CuCl2 solution at different concentrations to GaVan solution at different W/W ratios. NG, GT > 2 and GT < 2 were assigned to samples with no self-assembly gelation, self-assembly gelation time greater than 2 min, and self-assembly gelation time within 2 min, respectively. C Gelation time after addition of BSA solution to HACHO solution at different W/W ratios. D Macroscopic observation of rapid gelation of GaCuVan mixed with HACHO-BSA with different dye colors. E Representative SEM images of GaCuVan, HACHO-BSA, and GaCuVan&HACHO-BSA hydrogels. n = 3 independent samples. Photographs of injectability (F), shape adaptability (G), and self-healing (H) of GaCuVan&HACHO-BSA hydrogel. I Frequency scan measurements in the rheological analysis of the different hydrogels. J Degradation profiles of different types of hydrogels in PBS at 37 °C. n = 4 independent samples. K In vivo degradation profiles of different hydrogels with time after subcutaneous implantation in Sprague-Dawley rats. n = 4 independent samples. L UV/Vis absorbance spectra of GaVan at concentrations ranging from 450 to 650 nm, measured by the vanillin-sulfuric acid method. Cumulative in vitro release behavior of Ga (M) and Van (N) from GaCuVan&HACHO-BSA hydrogel at 37 °C in PBS. n = 3 independent samples. O Comparison of the FT-IR spectra of GaVan, GaCuVan, HACHO, HACHO-BSA, and GaCuVan&HACHO-BSA hydrogels. P XPS spectrum of the prepared GaCuVan&HACHO-BSA hydrogel. Q Interaction energies between sub-docked molecules and the structure of different complexes. R Interaction analysis of three-dimensional docking results for multiple complexes. (a) Mode of interaction between Cu ions and GaVan molecules. Magnified image: Coordination formed between Cu ions and GaVan molecules. (b) Interaction mode between the HACHO molecule and the GaCuVan complex, the black frame represents that multiple hydrogen bonds between O and N atoms on the GaCuVan molecule and hydroxyl O atoms on the HACHO molecule. (c) Visualization and analysis of post-docking complex interactions between the GaCuVan&HACHO complex and BSA. The results showed that multiple sets of hydrogen bonds and coordination interactions were formed between several components to promote stable binding of GaCuVan&HACHO-BSA hydrogel. Data are presented as mean values ± SEM. A was generated using BioRender.com, released under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International license.
