Synthesis and application in Asherman's syndrome of cyclodextrin-based biocompatible hydrogels

The aim of this study is synthesis, characterization of cyclodextrin-based hydrogels with different pore sizes, for prevent possible intrauterine adhesions during the regeneration of damaged uterine tissue post-surgical intervention, and investigation of their applications in Asherman syndrome. Therefore, in this study cyclodextrin-based injectable hydrogels with mechanical barrier properties have been synthesized to prevent the formation of Asherman's syndrome. The structures of these hydrogels are composed of five different PEGs, five different polyphenols and three different cyclodextrin groups as crosslinkers. For the synthesis of hydrogels, firstly, epoxy functional PEG structures were obtained by interacting PEG with epichlorohydrin. Then, hydrogels were synthesized by cross-linking cyclodextrin and polyphenol groups with them. Structural characterizations of hydrogels were eluciated with FTIR spectroscopy, surface properties were performed by AFM and SEM techniques. In addition, thermal stability and thermal properties of hydrogels were determined by TGA and DSC analyzes. Swelling, injectability and biocompatibility properties of hydrogels were investigated. In addition, the drug release properties of the hydrogels were examined and the most appropriate application form containing melatonin and estrogen was determined. As a result of these properties, the selected hydrogel structure was used in in vivo tests to determine its potential in preventing Asherman syndrome. Consequently, injectable hydrogels with thermal stability of 200 °C and high mechanical barrier properties were obtained by using different PEGs, polyphenols and cyclodextrins. According to the biocompatibility test, it was determined that these hydrogels were biocompatible at grade 0 and grade 1 levels. According to biochemical and histological data, the application of cyclodextrin-based hydrogel containing estrogen and melatonin has been determined to have an effect on reducing Asherman's syndrome damage.