Smart Shear-Thinning Hydrogels as Injectable Drug Delivery Systems

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Drug Delivery Systems
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Developing advanced hydrogels for targeted drug delivery is crucial.
• Existing materials often lack responsiveness to physiological stimuli like pH.
• Smart hydrogels offer potential for controlled and localized therapeutic release.

Purpose of the Study:

• To fabricate and characterize a novel shear-thinning hydrogel for localized drug delivery.
• To engineer pH-responsive properties into a gelatin-laponite hydrogel using chitosan and PNIPAM particles.
• To optimize the hydrogel formulation for enhanced rheological and mechanical performance.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of gelatin-laponite hydrogel with chitosan and PNIPAM particles.
• Characterization using FTIR, SEM, zeta potential, and dynamic light scattering.
• Evaluation of rheological behavior, mechanical properties, swelling, degradation, and Rhodamine B release at various pH.

Main Results:

• The nanocomposite gel exhibited tunable porous microstructure and shear-thinning behavior.
• The optimum formulation maintained mechanical integrity under physiological conditions.
• The hydrogel demonstrated pH-sensitive swelling, degradation, and drug release, with maximum release at pH 9.18.

Conclusions:

• The developed nanocomposite hydrogel is a promising pH-sensitive material for localized drug delivery.
• Its tunable properties and controlled release profile make it suitable for advanced therapeutic systems.
• Further research can explore its application in various biomedical fields.