The majority of commercially available HA-based dermal fillers use chemical cross-linking to enhance their mechanical characteristics and prolong their shelf life in vivo; nevertheless, more rigid and elastic formulations need a stronger extrusion force for injection in clinical settings. We suggest a thermosensitive dermal filler, injectable as a low viscosity fluid that undergoes in-situ gelation upon injection, to balance longevity and injectability. In order to do this, "green chemistry" was used to combine HA with a linker and a thermosensitive polymer called poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (pNIPAM). Water served as the solvent. At normal temperature, HA-L-pNIPAM hydrogels had a relatively low viscosity, but at body temperature, they spontaneously produced a stiffer gel with a submicron structure.
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Fluid Mechanics: Open Access received 291 citations as per Google Scholar report
