Thermogel-mediated sustained drug delivery for in situ malignancy chemotherapy

• Doxorubicin was loaded into the thermogelling hydrogel through direct dispersion.
• The drug-loaded thermogel exhibited the appropriate mechanical property and biodegradability.
• The doxorubicin-loaded thermogel showed the sustained payload release up to 30 days.
• The enhanced in vivo antitumor efficacy and security of laden thermogel were demonstrated.

In the past few decades, the in situ sustained drug delivery platforms present fascinating potential in sentinel chemotherapy of various solid tumors. In this work, doxorubicin (DOX), a model antitumor drug, was loaded into the thermogel of poly(lactide-co-glycolide)-block-poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(lactide-co-glycolide). The moderate mechanical property of DOX-loaded hydrogel was confirmed by rheological test. In vitro degradation revealed the good biodegradability of thermogel. The DOX-loaded hydrogel exhibited the sustained release profiles up to 30 days without and even with elastase. The improved in vivo tumor inhibition and reduced side-effects were observed in the DOX-incorporated hydrogel group compared with those in free DOX group. The excellent in vivo results were further confirmed by the histopathological evaluation or terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling assay. The thermogel with great prospect may be used as an ideal controlled drug delivery platform for the designated and long-term antitumor chemotherapy.

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