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Synthesis of Keratin-based Nanofiber for Biomedical Engineering
Published on: February 7, 2016
Engineering Biocompatible Hydrogels from Bicomponent Natural Nanofibers for Anticancer Drug Delivery
Junfei Xu1, Shan Liu1, Guangxue Chen1
1State Key Laboratory of Pulp and Paper Engineering, School of Light Industry and Engineering and ‡School of Medicine, South China University of Technology , Guangzhou 510640, P. R. China.
Abstract:
Natural hydrogels have attracted extensive research interest and shown great potential for many biomedical applications. In this study, a series of biocompatible hydrogels was reported based on the self-assembly of positively charged partially deacetylated α-chitin nanofibers (α-DECHN) and negatively charged 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl (TEMPO)-oxidized cellulose nanofibers (TOCNF) for anticancer drug delivery. The formation mechanisms of the α-DECHN/TOCNF hydrogels with different mixing proportions were studied, and their morphological, mechanical, and swelling properties were comprehensively investigated. Additionally, the drug delivery performance of the hydrogels was compared via sustained release test of an anticancer drug (5-fluorouracil). The results showed that the hydrogel with higher physical cross-linking degree exhibited a higher drug loading efficiency and drug release percentage.
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