Well-Defined Polyethylene Glycol Microscale Hydrogel Blocks Containing Gold Nanorods for Dual Photothermal and Chemotherapeutic Therapy

Abstract

Local drug delivery offers a means of achieving a high concentration of therapeutic agents directly at the tumor site, whilst minimizing systemic toxicity. For heterogenous cancers such as glioblastoma, multimodal therapeutic approaches hold promise for better efficacy. Herein, we aimed to create a well-defined and reproducible drug delivery system that also incorporates gold nanorods for photothermal therapy. Solvent-assisted micromolding was used to create uniform sacrificial templates in which microscale hydrogels were formed with and without gold nanorods throughout their structure. The microscale hydrogels could be loaded with doxorubicin, releasing it over a period of one week, causing toxicity to glioma cells. Since these microscale hydrogels were designed for direct intratumoral injection, therefore bypassing the blood–brain barrier, the highly potent breast cancer therapeutic doxorubicin was repurposed for use in this study. By contrast, the unloaded hydrogels were well tolerated, without decreasing cell viability. Irradiation with near-infrared light caused heating of the hydrogels, showing that if concentrated at an injection site, these hydrogels maybe able to cause anticancer activity through two separate mechanisms.

Hydrogel on a Smart Nanomaterial Interface to Carry Therapeutics for Digitalized Glioma Treatment

“…There are many types of hydrogel, such as poly(ɛ-caprolactone)-poly(ethylene glycol) (PCL-PEG), hyaluronic acid, poly(ɛ-caprolactone-co-lactide)-b-poly(ethylene glycol)-b-poly(ɛ-caprolactone-co-lactide) (PCLA-PEG-PCLA), and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) [ 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 24 , 32 , 33 ]. Natural products such as gelatin, triglycerol monostearate, pig diesel, and collagen have been employed as hydrogel scaffolds [ 25 , 27 , 29 , 31 ].…”

“…(i) The hyaluronic acid hydrogel has an easy, low cost, and rapid setup [ 19 ], and (ii) PNPPTX and MNP CpG are quickly cross-linked to form a hydrogel [ 22 ]. (iii) PCLA-PEG-PCLA can solubilize hydrophobic drugs; increase patient compliance, and decrease side effects [ 18 , 24 , 33 ]. (iv) Another pro of hydrogel nanomaterials is that they can be used for a sufficient filling of irregular damage sites, provision of a 3D cell growth environment, and improving efficacy and targetability of soluble biomolecules [ 18 , 22 , 26 ].…”

Developments on the Smart Hydrogel-Based Drug Delivery System for Oral Tumor Therapy

“…Photodynamic chemotherapy based on hydrogel has been utilized extensively in the treatment of breast cancer [ 144 ], prostate cancer [ 145 ], skin cancer [ 146 ], glioblastoma [ 147 ], etc. However, there are only a few studies on its application in oral cancer, which shows potential research prospects.…”