Abstract

Organic nanoparticles (NPs) and hydrogels have been widely studied in the biomedical field as drug delivery systems. Recently, the ability of the polymer network and NPs to physically interact with each other was applied to create a stable nanocomposite system with improved mechanical properties, one that was able to be injected inside the disease area and release the drug locally [1][2]. In this work, a drug delivery system based on the combination of pH-responsive poly((lactic acid-co-methacrylic acid)-b-(di(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate)) poly((PLA-co-MAA)-b-(EG₂MA)) nanoparticles with a cellulose-based solution was developed to create an injectable pH-responsive system for local drug delivery applications. Different types of drugs could be released at different pH conditions, both from the polymer network and NPs, to respond to future demands of using different drugs and therapeutic molecules at the same time for specific therapeutic treatments [3].

References

[1] Bovone G, Guzzi EA, Bernhard S, Weber T, Dranseikiene D, Tibbitt MW. Supramolecular Reinforcement of Polymer–Nanoparticle Hydrogels for Modular Materials Design. Adv Mater. 2022 Mar 1;34(9).

[2] Appel EA, Tibbitt MW, Webber MJ, Mattix BA, Veiseh O, Langer R. Self-assembled hydrogels utilizing polymer–nanoparticle interactions. Nat Commun . 2015 Feb 19;6(1):6295.

[3] Janjigian YY, Shitara K, Moehler M, et al. Nivolumab plus chemotherapy versus chemotherapy as first-line treatment for advanced gastric cancer/gastroesophageal junction cancer/oesophageal adenocarcinoma (CheckMate 649): a multicentre, randomised, open-label, phase 3 trial. Lancet (London, England). 2021; 398:27.