J Biomed Nanotechnol. 2019 Sep 1;15(9):1923-1936. doi: 10.1166/jbn.2019.2821.
Injectable hydrogels possess huge potential as localized drug carriers in breast cancer chemotherapy, owing to several advantages, including easy target administration, enhanced therapeutic efficiency, and less systemic side effects. Herein, we describe an injectable, near-infrared (NIR) light-responsive click cross-linked azobenzene hydrogel (AzoGel) that displays NIR irradiation-mediated smart drug release. The hydrogel can be formed via click cross-linking by mixing two kinds of gelatin derivatives functioned with dibenzylcyclooctyne (DBCO) and azidated azobenzene (N₃-Azo) respectively. The polyacrylic acid (PAA)-coated upconversion nanoparticles (UCNP@PAA)-encapsulated AzoGel has NIR light-responsive characteristics owing to the photoisomerization of azobenzene in the networks. The amount of an anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX), released from the hydrogel can be efficiently controlled by tuning the exposure time and intensity of 980 nm NIR light. Results of the study using DOX and UCNP@PAA-loaded AzoGel controlled by NIR light in the 4T1 breast cancer xenograft mouse model demonstrated an enhanced anti-cancer effect. To conclude, the injectable, NIR light-responsive, click cross-linked AzoGel exhibits a high potential as a localized drug delivery platform for cancer therapy.
可注射水凝胶作为局部药物载体在乳腺癌化疗中具有巨大的潜力，这主要归因于其具有一些优势，包括便于靶向给药、提高治疗效果和减少全身副作用等。在此，我们描述了一种可注射的、近红外（NIR）光响应点击交联偶氮苯水凝胶（AzoGel），该水凝胶具有近红外光介导的智能药物释放功能。该水凝胶可通过混合两种分别用二苄基环辛炔（DBCO）和叠氮化偶氮苯（N₃-Azo）官能化的明胶衍生物进行点击交联而形成。由于网络中偶氮苯的光致异构化，负载上转换纳米粒子（UCNP@PAA）的聚丙烯酸（PAA）包覆的 AzoGel 具有近红外光响应特性。通过调节 980nm 近红外光的照射时间和强度，可以有效地控制水凝胶中抗癌药物阿霉素（DOX）的释放量。在 4T1 乳腺癌异种移植小鼠模型中，使用 DOX 和负载 UCNP@PAA 的 AzoGel 进行近红外光控制的研究结果表明，该水凝胶具有增强的抗癌效果。综上所述，可注射的、近红外光响应的、点击交联的 AzoGel 作为局部药物递送平台在癌症治疗方面具有很大的潜力。
