Electrochemical biosensors with high sensitivity can detect low concentrations of biomarkers, but their practical detection applications in complex biological environments such as human serum and sweat are severely limited by the biofouling. Herein, a conductive hydrogel based on bovine serum albumin (BSA) and conductive carbon black (CCB) was prepared for the construction of an antifouling biosensor. The BSA hydrogel (BSAG) was doped with CCB, and the prepared composite hydrogel exhibited good conductivity originated from the CCB and antifouling capability owing to the BSA hydrogel. An antifouling biosensor for the sensitive detection of cortisol was fabricated by drop-coating the conductive hydrogel onto a poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) modified electrode and further immobilizing the cortisol aptamer. The constructed biosensor showed a linear range of 100 pg mL −1 - 10 μg mL −1 and a limit of detection of 26.0 pg mL −1 for the detection of cortisol, and it was capable of assaying cortisol accurately in complex human serum. This strategy of preparing antifouling and conductive hydrogels provides an effective way to develop robust electrochemical biosensors for biomarker detection in complex biological media.
Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a severe clinical disease usually accompanied by activated glial scar, neuronal axon rupture, and disabled motor function. To mimic the microenvironment of the SCI injury site, a hydrogel system with a comparable mechanical property to the spinal cord is desirable. Therefore, a novel elastic bovine serum albumin (BSA) hydrogel is fabricated with excellent adhesive, injectable, and biocompatible properties. The hydrogel is used to deliver paclitaxel (PTX) together with basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) to inhibit glial scar formation as well as promote axon regeneration and motor function for SCI repair. Due to the specific interaction of BSA with both drugs, bFGF, and PTX can be controllably released from the hydrogel system to achieve an effective concentration at the wound site during the SCI regeneration process. Moreover, benefiting from the combination of PTX and bFGF, this bFGF/PTX@BSA system significantly aided axon repair by promoting the elongation of axons across the glial scar with reduced reactive astrocyte secretion. In addition, remarkable anti-apoptosis of nerve cells is evident with the bFGF/PTX@BSA system. Subsequently, this multi-functionalized drug system significantly improved the motor function of the rats after SCI. These results reveal that bFGF/PTX@BSA is an ideal functionalized material for nerve repair in SCI.
Rapid and scar-free healing of burn wounds is an urgent clinical issue. Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) has been proven to promote the healing of burn wounds by accelerating ECM remodeling and angiogenesis. However, exudates from burn wounds can accelerate bFGF degradation, thereby affecting its bioactivity. This study proposes an effective protection strategy for bFGF that involves encapsulating bFGF in nanoliposomes (bFGF-NLip) and then incorporating bFGF-NLip into a bovine serum albumin (BSA) hydrogel. This hybrid hydrogel system (bFGF-NLip@B) could maintain the activity of bFGF, achieve sustained release, and allow phospholipids and cholesterol to penetrate the skin, thereby enabling bFGF to function in the dermis. The experimental results showed that the hydrogel was injectable with good mechanical properties and biocompatibility. In a mouse scald wound model, owing to the sustained release of bFGF and skin permeation function of the nanoliposomes, the hydrogel promoted granulation formation, collagen deposition, vascular regeneration, and re-epithelialisation, ultimately accelerating wound healing. In addition, the hydrogel effectively inhibited scar formation. This system provides novel insights into the delivery of bFGF and scar-free healing of burn wounds.
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