title: A vegetable oil-based organogel for use in pH-mediated drug delivery.
abstract: Organogels prepared with vegetable oils as the liquid organic phase present an excellent platform for the controlled delivery of hydrophobic guest molecules. We disclose a graft copolymer comprised of a poly(L-serine) backbone linked to alkane side-chains by hydrolytically susceptible ester bonds, that is capable of gelating edible safflower oil. The thermoresponsive organogel formed, which is non-cytotoxic, is capable of withholding guest molecules before undergoing targeted disassembly upon incubation in solutions of acidic pH, permitting the directed release of payload molecules. The presented material offers an extremely promising candidate for the controlled delivery of hydrophobic agents within acidic environments, such as cancer tumour sites.
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK. p.d.thornton@leeds.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Mthulisi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Khuphe
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical & Biological Engineering, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK.
authors.forename: Blessing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Mukonoweshuro
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK. p.d.thornton@leeds.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Algy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kazlauciunas
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK. p.d.thornton@leeds.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Paul D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Thornton
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D004337:Drug Carriers / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity; D005782:Gels / Q000737:chemistry*; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D051379:Mice; D010938:Plant Oils / Q000737:chemistry*; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry; D012235:Rhodamines / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared
chemical_list: D004337:Drug Carriers; D005782:Gels; D010938:Plant Oils; D011108:Polymers; D012235:Rhodamines; C029773:rhodamine B