Injectable Hyaluronic Acid Hydrogel Containing Platelet Derivatives for Synovial Fluid Viscosupplementation and Growth Factors Delivery

Osteoarthritisis a highly prevalent musculoskeletal disorder characterized by degradation ofcartilage and synovial fluid (SF). Platelet derivatives as platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and platelet lysatehave great potential in the treatment of osteoarthritis because they contain biologicallyactive substances including growth factors (GFs). Rapid release of GFs andtheir short biological half-life are factors that can limit the therapeuticimpact of PRP therapy. Here, the first work that describes hydrogels based onpolyaldehyde derivative of hyaluronic acid (HA-OX) as carriers of plateletderivatives for in situ applications is presented, which can be a possiblesolution to the problem. HA-OX hydrogels containing 50% (w/w) of PRP or platelet lysate can be injected using a syringe due to low viscosity(<10 Pa s) and injection force (<20 N), and reach elastic modulus upto 2000 Pa. Insulin-like GF-1 and Platelet-derived GF-AB release from HA-OX hydrogels (mesh size 297-406 nm) by Fickian and non-Fickian diffusion respectively. The released PRP GFs maintain their ability to induce cell proliferation (87%-92%). Based on the obtained results, the unique concept of a new material that canrestore viscoelastic properties of SF and at the same time gradually deliver GFs from platelet derivatives is designed.