Yamamoto Lab and ASDRP Student Researchers Creatively Circumvent Issues with Compatibility in Adhesive GMHA Hydrogels

Yamamoto Lab and Students Release New Findings on GMHA Hydrogels during the Summer 2024 ASDRP Research Expo & Symposium

The research has been ongoing and carried out in the Yamamoto Lab run by ASDRP Principal Investigator Akira Yamamoto, head scientist for biomaterial engineering in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. The student research group turned out an excellent project on the synthesis of GMHA hydrogels. 

Yamamoto Lab Student Researchers at ASDRP

What is a hydrogel? 

A hydrogel is a material made of at least 10% water, as well as hydrophobic and porous materials that work to form a 3D structure when combined. These materials are polymers, or plastics, that hold the water often by cross linking and creating a grid like structure within the compound. They are often found in medical products, such as polyethylene glycol, but are also present in nature and even humans in compounds such as collagen and gelatin. 

What is the application of hydrogels? 

There are many applications of hydrogels, but in the biomedical field specifically, they are an incredibly versatile and reliable material, used in everything from contact lenses to wound dressings to tissue scaffolding. They have been an essential part of medical science since the 1940s and have been an important building block of modern medicine. 

Why is this study significant? 

One common issue in the continued study of hydrogels is the compatibility of two materials that would otherwise serve as a helpful tool in scientific application. The student researchers in the Yamamoto Lab worked to circumvent the incompatibility of solubility between hyaluronic acid (HA) and glycidyl methacrylate (GM). Instead of using several complex solvents, they successfully found that by first dissolving the HA in water, they could then successfully combine it with the GM. 

Research Study

The Research study was carried out by student researchers overseen by Principal Investigator, Akira Yamamoto, a biomedical scientist,  on campus at ASDRP Lab in Fremont, California. They presented their findings during the ASDRP 2024 Summer Research Expo and Symposium at Mission College on September 7, 2024.

Abstract by the Yamamoto Lab

Hydrogels are a versatile material composed of a crosslinked structure capable of holding large quantities of water making them particularly useful in medicinal applications. Prior implementations of this material have included tissue scaffolding, biomedical glue, contact lenses, and drug delivery. However, current synthesis of these hydrogels are complex and vary significantly depending on the polymer being attached. In this project we demonstrate the synthesis of a photocuring and adhesive hydrogel with a simplified procedure. The main polymer we attached is hyaluronic acid to glycidyl methacrylate using sodium hydroxide as a catalyst. The main issue in current procedures is the solubility incompatibility between the polymers and the grafting agents therefore requiring a complex mixture of solvents to dissolve the reactants. We circumvent this issue by using the minimum amount of water to completely dissolve the hyaluronic acid before adding in the glycidyl methacrylate which is then miscible with the mixture. The resulting product is shown to successfully cross link as after photocuring it retains its structure after being hydrated in water. We believe that this approach to the synthesis of hydrogels is widely applicable to a variety of polymers and will allow for simpler and more scalable synthesis of the material.

Contributing Yamamoto Lab Student Researchers

Ethan Chia, Irvington High School ‘25; Sandilya Garimella, Amador Valley High School ‘ 25; Kristine Liang, Irvington High School ‘27,  Manas Manduri, Foothill High School ‘27; Sohum Parvate, San Mateo High School ‘26, Luka Young, Worthington Kilbourne High School ‘25 and Kevin Zhang, Henry M. Gunn High School ‘25, Akira Yamamoto, MS ASDRP Principal Investigator