Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
Trends Pharmacol Sci. 2021 Apr;42(4):300-312. doi: 10.1016/j.tips.2021.01.005. Epub 2021 Feb 22.
Proteins have been studied as therapeutic agents for treatment of various human diseases. However, the delivery of protein drugs into the body is challenging. In this review, we summarize and highlight progress in developing affinity hydrogels (i.e., hydrogels functionalized with protein-bound ligands) for controlled protein release. Contrary to traditional hydrogels, which release proteins mainly through diffusion, affinity hydrogels stably retain and sustainably release proteins based mainly on diffusion coupled with a binding reaction. These hydrogels can also be modulated to release proteins in response to defined molecules in a triggered manner. Future research efforts may focus on the development of intelligent affinity hydrogels to mimic the properties of human tissues in sensing different environmental stimuli for on-demand release of single or multiple proteins (i.e., biomimetic intelligence for protein delivery).
蛋白质已被研究作为治疗各种人类疾病的治疗剂。然而，将蛋白质药物递送到体内具有挑战性。在这篇综述中，我们总结和强调了开发用于控制蛋白质释放的亲和水凝胶（即通过蛋白质结合配体功能化的水凝胶）的进展。与传统水凝胶主要通过扩散释放蛋白质不同，亲和水凝胶主要通过扩散与结合反应相结合来稳定保留和持续释放蛋白质。这些水凝胶还可以进行调节，以响应特定分子以触发方式释放蛋白质。未来的研究工作可能集中在开发智能亲和水凝胶上，以模拟人类组织的特性，用于按需释放单一或多种蛋白质（即，用于蛋白质递送的仿生智能），以响应不同的环境刺激。
