MXenes-based photothermal hydrogels for macrophage polarization regulation via heat-shock protein

The polarization of macrophages plays an important clinical role in the occurrence and development of many diseases. Photothermal therapy is a non-invasive treatment mode based on near-infrared light stimulation. The large surface of MXenes makes it have a high spectral band from UV to NIR region and high photothermal conversion efficiency, which has a very broad prospect in photothermal therapy. In this study, we report, for the first time, the integration of photothermal MXenes into gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) hydrogels for macrophage polarization regulation. Macrophage M1 polarization was induced by photothermal effect to achieve immune reaction via heat-shock protein (HSP) 60, 70, and 90. This study indicated that we could propose immunomodulatory strategies based on the immunological characteristics of target diseases and provide ideas for the design and synthesis of new immunoregulatory biomaterials.