Injectable Enzymatically Cross-linked Hydrogels with Light-Controlled Degradation Profile

An advanced hydrogel that features facile formation and injectability as well as light-controlled degradation profile is reported here. By modifying 4-arm poly(ethylene glycol) (4-arm PEG) with 2-nitrobenzyl (NB) and phenol, the 4-arm PEG precursor solutions could form enzymatically cross-linked hydrogels in the presence of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). The gelation time, mechanical strength, and porous structure could be simply tuned by the concentration of HRP and H2O2. Moreover, the hydrogels underwent controlled degradation under UV light irradiation via photo-cleavage reaction of the NB ester bond. The hydrogels exhibited negligible cytotoxicity toward mouse fibroblast L929 cells in vitro and can be manipulated through injection in vivo.