Guangdong Engineering & Technology Research Centre of Graphene-like Materials and Products, Department of Chemistry, College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, P. R. China.
Guangdong Jianpai New Materials Co., Ltd., Foshan 528500, P. R. China.
ACS Biomater Sci Eng. 2022 Apr 11;8(4):1554-1565. doi: 10.1021/acsbiomaterials.1c01389. Epub 2022 Mar 4.
Natural polymer gels with sensitivity to near-infrared (NIR) light have attracted the attention of scientists working on intelligent drug delivery systems. Compared to ultraviolet or visible light, NIR light has the advantages of strong trigger levels, deep penetration through affected tissues, and fewer side effects. Herein, we present a topical photothermal hydrogel for NIR-controlled drug delivery. The proposed DexIEM-GM-Laponite hydrogel was prepared through free radical polymerization of vinyl-functionalized dextran (DexIEM), vinyl-modified graphene oxide (GM), and Laponite; thereafter, the hydrogel was loaded with ciprofloxacin (CIP, an antibacterial drug) as a model drug. With the Laponite content increased, the density of crosslinking in the hydrogel increased, and its mechanical properties improved noticeably. Under NIR irradiation, the DexIEM-GM-Laponite hydrogel exhibited a photothermal property, where the surface temperature increased from 26.8 to 55.5 °C. The simulation of subcutaneous drug delivery experiments ex vivo showed that under the specified pork tissue thickness (2, 4, and 6 mm), the CIP release remained NIR-controllable. Additionally, the results of the antibacterial performance tests indicated the excellent antibacterial effect of the hydrogel, and the blood hemolysis ratio of the hydrogel was less than 5%, signifying good blood compatibility. This work will provide an avenue for the application of NIR light-responsive materials in antimicrobial therapy.
具有近红外（NIR）光敏感性的天然聚合物凝胶引起了致力于智能药物输送系统的科学家们的关注。与紫外线或可见光相比，NIR 光具有强触发水平、穿透受影响组织深和副作用少的优点。在此，我们提出了一种用于 NIR 控制药物输送的局部光热水凝胶。所提出的 DexIEM-GM-Laponite 水凝胶是通过乙烯基化葡聚糖（DexIEM）、乙烯基改性氧化石墨烯（GM）和 Laponite 的自由基聚合制备的；此后，将水凝胶负载环丙沙星（CIP，一种抗菌药物）作为模型药物。随着 Laponite 含量的增加，水凝胶的交联密度增加，其机械性能明显提高。在 NIR 照射下，DexIEM-GM-Laponite 水凝胶表现出光热性能，表面温度从 26.8 升高到 55.5°C。离体皮下药物输送实验的模拟表明，在规定的猪肉组织厚度（2、4 和 6 毫米）下，CIP 释放仍然可以通过 NIR 控制。此外，抗菌性能测试结果表明水凝胶具有优异的抗菌效果，水凝胶的溶血率小于 5%，表明具有良好的血液相容性。这项工作将为 NIR 光响应材料在抗菌治疗中的应用提供途径。
