부산대학교 도서관

Injectable hydrogel systems to achieve controlled drug release for localized chemotherapy are emerging modality for cancer therapy. Here, an injectable hydrogel system for in situ gelation based on tumor physiological conditions, incorporated with photothermal agent is investigated for photothermally modulated drug release. Gelation of poly(acrylic acid) and Pluronic F127 incorporated with silica-coated gold nanorods and methotrexate (MTX), is tuned to occur within five minutes at 37 °C and pH values of 5 or 7.4. The hydrogel is photothermally stable for repeated irradiation and the photothermal response shows ~ 24 °C temperature rise. On irradiation for three consecutive ON/OFF cycles, controlled MTX release of ~ 42.5% at pH 5.0, and ~ 29% at pH 7.4 was demonstrated. MTX release kinetics revealed non-Fickian diffusion along with matrix erosion and polymer relaxation mechanism. Hydrogel system provides photothermally modulated controlled anti-cancer drug release wherein the gelation and drug release can be tuned for tumor physiology.Graphical abstract: