Lim Saebin, Kim Ji An, Chun Yoon Hong, Lee Hyun Jong
Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Gachon University, 1342 Seongnam-daero, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do 13120, Republic of Korea.
Department of Pediatrics, Incheon St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Incheon 21431, Republic of Korea.
Int J Biol Macromol. 2023 Dec 31;253(Pt 1):126603. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.126603. Epub 2023 Aug 29.
Peptide and protein drugs, such as epidermal growth factor (EGF), face challenges related to stability and bioavailability. Recently, hydrogels have emerged as promising carriers for these drugs. This study focuses on a light-responsive hydrogel-based drug delivery system for the controlled release of EGF in wound healing. A photocleavable (PC) linker was designed to bind EGF to the hydrogel matrix, enabling UV light-triggered release of EGF. Hydrogels have evolved from drug reservoirs to controlled release systems, and the o-nitrobenzyl-based PC linkers offer selective cleavage under UV irradiation. We used a thiol-ene crosslinked hyaluronic acid (HA) hydrogel matrix modified with the PC-linked EGF. The release of EGF from the HA hydrogel under UV irradiation was evaluated, along with in vitro and in vivo experiments to assess the controlled effect of EGF on wound healing. Our results indicate that the successful development of a light-responsive hydrogel-based system for precise temporal release of EGF enhances the therapeutic potential in wound healing. This study highlights the importance of incorporating stimulus-responsive functionalities into hydrogel-based drug delivery systems to optimize protein drugs in clinical applications.
肽类和蛋白质类药物，如表皮生长因子（EGF），面临着与稳定性和生物利用度相关的挑战。近年来，水凝胶已成为这些药物颇具前景的载体。本研究聚焦于一种基于光响应水凝胶的药物递送系统，用于在伤口愈合过程中实现表皮生长因子的控释。设计了一种可光裂解（PC）连接子，将表皮生长因子与水凝胶基质结合，从而实现紫外线触发的表皮生长因子释放。水凝胶已从药物储库发展为控释系统，基于邻硝基苄基的PC连接子在紫外线照射下可实现选择性裂解。我们使用了经PC连接的表皮生长因子修饰的硫醇-烯交联透明质酸（HA）水凝胶基质。评估了紫外线照射下表皮生长因子从HA水凝胶中的释放情况，以及评估表皮生长因子对伤口愈合的控制效果的体外和体内实验。我们的结果表明，成功开发出一种基于光响应水凝胶的系统用于表皮生长因子的精确时间释放，增强了其在伤口愈合中的治疗潜力。本研究强调了将刺激响应功能纳入基于水凝胶的药物递送系统以优化临床应用中蛋白质药物的重要性。
