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Gels
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Functional Gels Applied in Cancer Therapy
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Functional Gels Applied in Cancer Therapy

A special issue of Gels (ISSN 2310-2861). This special issue belongs to the section "Gel Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2024 | Viewed by 3200

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Qin Fan

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM) and School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Posts & Telecommunications, Nanjing 210000, China
Interests: biomaterials; cell-derived carrier; immune therapy; DNA nanotechnology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Hydrogels have been widely used as emerging drug carriers for tumor drug delivery. Compared with systemic chemotherapy, hydrogel drug carriers have fewer side effects and allow for sustained drug release at the tumor site. In addition, hydrogels have superior biocompatibility and biodegradability with lower toxicity. Smart hydrogels can respond to environmental stimuli (e.g., heat, pH, light, and ultrasound) to achieve in situ gelation or drug release, which can have a significant effect on improving the ease and efficiency of drug delivery.

This Special Issue on “Functional Gels Applied in Cancer Therapy” is a thorough collection of articles dealing with the theoretical and fundamental studies of the design strategies of functional hydrogels and applications in antitumor treatments. The publication of original research articles, rapid communications, or reviews in this Special Issue will make an important contribution to developing gel-based smart drug delivery systems for cancer therapy.

Dr. Qin Fan
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Gels is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • hydrogel
  • drug delivery
  • stimuli-responsive property
  • antitumor
  • drug delivery system

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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24 pages, 8180 KiB  
Article
Disulfide Cross-Linked Polymeric Redox-Responsive Nanocarrier Based on Heparin, Chitosan and Lipoic Acid Improved Drug Accumulation, Increased Cytotoxicity and Selectivity to Leukemia Cells by Tumor Targeting via “Aikido” Principle
by Igor D. Zlotnikov, Alexander A. Ezhov, Natalia V. Dobryakova and Elena V. Kudryashova
Gels 2024, 10(3), 157; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels10030157 - 20 Feb 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1099
Abstract
We have developed a micellar formulation of anticancer drugs based on chitosan and heparin grafted with lipoic and oleic acids that can release the cytotoxic cargo (doxorubicin) in response to external stimuli, such as increased glutathione concentration—a hallmark of cancer. Natural polysaccharides (heparin [...] Read more.
We have developed a micellar formulation of anticancer drugs based on chitosan and heparin grafted with lipoic and oleic acids that can release the cytotoxic cargo (doxorubicin) in response to external stimuli, such as increased glutathione concentration—a hallmark of cancer. Natural polysaccharides (heparin and chitosan) provide the pH sensitivity of the nanocarrier: the release of doxorubicin (Dox) is enhanced in a slightly acidic environment (tumor microenvironment). Fatty acid residues are necessary for the formation of nanoparticles (micelles) and solubilization of cytostatics in a hydrophobic core. Lipoic acid residues provide the formation of a labile S-S cross-linking between polymer chains (the first variant) or covalently attached doxorubicin molecules through glutathione-sensitive S-S bridges (the second variant)—both determine Redox sensitivity of the anticancer drugs carriers stable in blood circulation and disintegrate after intracellular uptake in the tumor cells. The release of doxorubicin from micelles occurs slowly (20%/6 h) in an environment with a pH of 7.4 and the absence of glutathione, while in a slightly acidic environment and in the presence of 10 mM glutathione, the rate increases up to 6 times, with an increase in the effective concentration up to 5 times after 7 h. The permeability of doxorubicin in micellar formulations (covalent S-S cross-linked and not) into Raji, K562, and A875 cancer cells was studied using FTIR, fluorescence spectroscopy and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). We have shown dramatically improved accumulation, decreased efflux, and increased cytotoxicity compared to doxorubicin control with three tumor cell lines: Raji, K562, and A875. At the same time, cytotoxicity and permeability for non-tumor cells (HEK293T) are significantly lower, increasing the selectivity index against tumor cells by several times. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Gels Applied in Cancer Therapy)
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Review

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23 pages, 2512 KiB  
Review
Peptide-Hydrogel Nanocomposites for Anti-Cancer Drug Delivery
by Farid Hajareh Haghighi, Roya Binaymotlagh, Ilaria Fratoddi, Laura Chronopoulou and Cleofe Palocci
Gels 2023, 9(12), 953; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels9120953 - 04 Dec 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1831
Abstract
Cancer is the second leading cause of death globally, but conventional anticancer drugs have side effects, mainly due to their non-specific distribution in the body in both cancerous and healthy cells. To address this relevant issue and improve the efficiency of anticancer drugs, [...] Read more.
Cancer is the second leading cause of death globally, but conventional anticancer drugs have side effects, mainly due to their non-specific distribution in the body in both cancerous and healthy cells. To address this relevant issue and improve the efficiency of anticancer drugs, increasing attention is being devoted to hydrogel drug-delivery systems for different kinds of cancer treatment due to their high biocompatibility and stability, low side effects, and ease of modifications. To improve the therapeutic efficiency and provide multi-functionality, different types of nanoparticles (NPs) can be incorporated within the hydrogels to form smart hydrogel nanocomposites, benefiting the advantages of both counterparts and suitable for advanced anticancer applications. Despite many papers on non-peptide hydrogel nanocomposites, there is limited knowledge about peptide-based nanocomposites, specifically in anti-cancer drug delivery. The aim of this short but comprehensive review is, therefore, to focus attention on the synergies resulting from the combination of NPs with peptide-based hydrogels. This review, which includes a survey of recent advances in this kind of material, does not aim to be an exhaustive review of hydrogel technology, but it instead highlights recent noteworthy publications and discusses novel perspectives to provide valuable insights into the promising synergic combination of peptide hydrogels and NPs for the design of novel anticancer drug delivery systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Gels Applied in Cancer Therapy)
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