title: Tunable temperature-responsive supramolecular hydrogels formed by prodrugs as a codelivery system.
abstract: Taking advantage of the strong hydrophobicity of the anticancer drug camptothecin (CPT), the CPT molecule was conjugated to a class of low-molecular-weight (MW) poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) chains (MW = 500, 1000, and 2000), forming an amphiphilic prodrug. The CPT-PEG prodrug formed stable hydrogels based on a combination of the partial inclusion complexation between one end of the PEG blocks and α-CD and the hydrophobic aggregation of CPT groups. Meanwhile, the formed hydrogels could be loaded with water-soluble drug 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), which is always combined with CPT drugs to enhance their anticancer activity. Moreover, the hydrogel systems demonstrate unique structure-related reversible gel-sol transition properties at a certain temperature due to the reversible supramolecular assembly, and the gel-sol transition temperature could be modulated by varying the length of the PEG chain and the concentrations of α-CD, demonstrating the possibility of achieving on-demand gel-sol transitions. The structure-related reversible gel-sol transition properties were proved by rheological property, XRD, DSC, and SEM measurements. The different controlled release profiles of two different anticancer drugs showed significant temperature-dependent properties. This easily prepared supramolecular hydrogel with excellent biocompatibility and tunable temperature responsiveness has significant potential for controlled drug release applications.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Chemistry of Northwestern Plant Resources of CAS and Key Laboratory for Natural Medicine of Gansu Province, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Lanzhou 730000, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Ha
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Xin-yue
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Yan-ping
authors.initials: YP
authors.lastname: Shi
mesh_terms: D000964:Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic / Q000008:administration & dosage; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D005472:Fluorouracil / Q000008:administration & dosage; D020100:Hydrogels; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D011355:Prodrugs / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D013696:Temperature; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction
chemical_list: D000964:Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic; D020100:Hydrogels; D011355:Prodrugs; D005472:Fluorouracil