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The Intrinsic Relation between the Hydrogel Structure and In Vivo Performance of Hyaluronic Acid Dermal Fillers: A Comparative Study of Four Typical Dermal Fillers

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Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Aims and scope

Abstract

Background:

Hyaluronic acid dermal fillers are composed of cross-linked viscoelastic particles with high biocompatibility. The performance of the fillers is determined by the viscoelastic properties of particles and the connecting force between particles. However, the relationships among the properties of fillers, the interaction of the gels and the surrounding tissue are not clear enough.

Method:

Four kinds of typical dermal filler were selected in this research to reveal the interaction between the gels and cells. A series of analytical tools was applied to characterize the structure and physicochemical properties of the gel, as well as observing their interaction with the surrounding tissues in vivo and discussing their internal mechanism.

Result:

The large particles internal the gel and the high rheological properties endow the Restylane2 with excellent support. However, these large-size particles have a significant impact on the metabolism of the local tissue surrounding the gel. Juvéderm3 present gel integrity with the high cohesiveness and superior support. The rational matching of large and small particles provides the Juvéderm3 with supporting capacity and excellent biological performance. Ifresh is characterized by small-size particles, moderate cohesiveness, good integrity, lower viscoelasticity and the superior cellular activity located the surrounding tissues. Cryohyaluron has high cohesion and medium particle size and it is prominent in cell behaviors involving localized tissues. Specific macroporous structure in the gel may facilitate the nutrients delivering and removing the waste.

Conclusion:

It’s necessary to make the filler both sufficient support and biocompatibility through the rational matching of particle sizes and rheological properties. Gels with macroporous structured particle showed an advantage in this area by providing a space inside the particle.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Youth Fund of the Second Hospital of Tian** Medical University (Award number 2022ydey18).

Author information

Author notes

  1. Weiwei Zhou and Shuai Hou contribute equally to the article as co-first author.

  2. Jie Yang and Cheng Peng contribute equally as corresponding author.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Stomatology, The Second Hospital of Tian** Medical University, 22 **jiang Road, Hexi District, Tian**, 300211, China

    Weiwei Zhou, Wei Fu, Jie Yang & Cheng Peng

  2. Department of Stomatology, General Hospital, Tian** Medical University, 154 Anshan Road, He** District, Tian**, 300052, China

    Shuai Hou & Yang Zhou

  3. The Forsyth Institute/Harvard University School of Dental Medicine, 245 First Street, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA

    Shu Deng

  4. National Engineering Laboratory for Digital and Material Technology of Stomatology Center of Digital Dentistry Peking University School and Hospital of Stomatology, Bei**g, 100081, China

    Yang Peng

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Contributions

ZW (M.D.): Investigation, Formal analysis, Data Curation, Writing—Original Draft. HS (M.D.): Conceptualization, Validation, Investigation, Writing—Original Draft. DS (M.D.): Conceptualization, Project administration. PY (M.D.): Validation, Resources, Data Curation. FW (M.D.): Resources, Visualization. ZY (M.D.): Resources, Data Curation. YJ (M.D.): Writing—Review and Editing, Funding acquisition. PC (Ph.D.): Project administration, Supervision P.S.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Jie Yang or Cheng Peng.

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The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Ethical statement

All animal surgical experiments were performed under the approval by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of Yi Shengyuan Gene Technology (Tian**) Co., Ltd. (Approval No. YSY-DWLL-2022102).

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Zhou, W., Hou, S., Deng, S. et al. The Intrinsic Relation between the Hydrogel Structure and In Vivo Performance of Hyaluronic Acid Dermal Fillers: A Comparative Study of Four Typical Dermal Fillers. Tissue Eng Regen Med 20, 503–517 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13770-023-00533-0

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