Postfabrication encapsulation of model protein drugs in a negatively thermosensitive hydrogel

A postfabrication encapsulation technique was developed for loading model protein drugs into an intelligent and biodegradable hydrogel film, which exhibits negative thermosensitivity with a desirable phase transition temperature between refrigerator temperature and body temperature. The hydrogel comprises mainly poly(ethylene oxide)-poly(propylene oxide)-poly(ethylene oxide) block copolymer, and oligo(lactide). The model proteins Hemoglobin and Bovine Serum Albumin were loaded into the hydrogel films by soaking the gels at 4°C, at which the hydrogel film was swollen. The loaded drug was released gradually in PBS at 37°C, where the hydrogel film was shrunken. Because the hydrogel is biodegradable, the loaded drug could be released completely. It is confirmed that proteins can, in their native structures, be included in the hydrogel via the present technique, as characterized by FTIR, Raman spectrum, UV/VIS spectrum, and circular dichroism spectrum. The highlight of our approach is avoidance of high temperatures and organic solvents in encapsulation, making it ideal for protein drug delivery systems.