title: In Situ-Forming Polyamidoamine Dendrimer Hydrogels with Tunable Properties Prepared via Aza-Michael Addition Reaction.
abstract: In this work, we describe synthesis and characterization of novel in situ-forming polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimer hydrogels (DHs) with tunable properties prepared via highly efficient aza-Michael addition reaction. PAMAM dendrimer G5 was chosen as the underlying core and functionalized with various degrees of acetylation using acetic anhydride. The nucleophilic amines on the dendrimer surface reacted with α, β-unsaturated ester in acrylate groups of polyethylene glycol diacrylate (PEG-DA, Mn= 575 g/mol) via aza-Michael addition reaction to form dendrimer hydrogels without the use of any catalyst. The solidification time, rheological behavior, network structure, swelling, and degradation properties of the hydrogel were tuned by adjusting the dendrimer surface acetylation degree and dendrimer concentration. The DHs were shown to be highly cytocompatible and support cell adhesion and proliferation. We also prepared an injectable dendrimer hydrogel formulation to deliver the anticancer drug 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and demonstrated that the injectable formulation efficiently inhibited tumor growth following intratumoral injection. Taken together, this new class of dendrimer hydrogel prepared by aza-Michael addition reaction can serve as a safe tunable platform for drug delivery and tissue engineering.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Life Science Engineering, Virginia Commonwealth University , Richmond, Virginia 23219, United States.
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Life Science Engineering, Virginia Commonwealth University , Richmond, Virginia 23219, United States.
authors.forename: Hongliang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Virginia Commonwealth University , Richmond, Virginia 23284, United States.
authors.forename: Remy C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Cooper
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Life Science Engineering, Virginia Commonwealth University , Richmond, Virginia 23219, United States.|Department of Pharmaceutics, Virginia Commonwealth University , Richmond, Virginia 23298, United States.|Massey Cancer Center, Virginia Commonwealth University , Richmond, Virginia 23298, United States.
authors.forename: Hu
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3030-004X
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D050091:Dendrimers; D020100:Hydrogels / Q000737:chemistry*; D011073:Polyamines; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; D023822:Tissue Engineering
chemical_list: D050091:Dendrimers; D020100:Hydrogels; C531249:Poly(amidoamine); D011073:Polyamines; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols
keywords: click chemistry; dendrimer; in situ forming; injectable hydrogel; localized chemotherapy