Engineered self-expander hydrogel for sustained release of drug molecules

Abstract

We synthesized a copolymer hydrogel composed of methyl methacrylate and N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone and evaluated the in vitro release of the anticancer drug doxorubicin from this self-expanding hydrogel, under physiological conditions. The degree of expansion of the self-expanding copolymer was measured in various solutions. We induced drug adsorption into the methyl methacrylate and N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone hydrogel by self-expansion, promoted by osmotic pressure. The antitumor effects of the released drug molecules were evaluated in MDA-MB-231 breast carcinoma cells. In conclusion, we provide evidence that this drug-containing self-expanding hydrogel may have the potential for biomedical applications including as an implant in tissue areas that require both physical support and anti-inflammatory drug treatment. (C) 2016 The Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.