Hydrogel coatings offer a promising strategy for improving the biocompatibility and functionality of medical devices. However, conventional hydrogel coatings often suffer from swelling-induced delamination, poor durability, and limited resistance to thrombosis and biological adhesion. Here, we report a nanocolloidal hydrogel coating (NHC) that shows an important and highly impactful combination of properties, such as lubrication, antibioadhesion, and antithrombogenicity. The NHC is prepared by anchoring a layer of nanocolloidal hydrogel made from methacryloyl-modified hyaluronate nanoparticles on the surface of biomedical implants and medical devices. We show that the long-term nonswelling behavior of nanocolloidal hydrogels renders the good durability and the stable adhesion to diverse substrates under physiological conditions. NHCs with tunable mechanical properties significantly reduce the friction of biomedical devices such as catheters, stents, and contact lenses. NHCs effectively resist the adhesion of proteins, cells, and bacteria. Moreover, NHCs show good hemocompatibility and minimal in vivo inflammatory response. Notably, NHCs covalently modified by heparin further exhibit robust antithrombotic activity both in a dynamic in vitro circulation model and an arteriovenous shunt model in a rabbit. NHCs with greatly enhanced properties will offer a clinically translational platform for innovative hydrogel coatings on diverse medical devices and implantable bioelectronics.
Ding et al. (Thu,) studied this question.