A simple method for fabricating drugs containing a cis-o-diol structure into guanosine-based supramolecular hydrogels
Xin Xia1, Shaojuan Song1, Yinghui Wen1
1State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Oral Carcinogenesis and Management, Med-X Center for Materials, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610041, P. R. China. zhouronghui@scu.edu.cn.
Abstract:
Supramolecular hydrogels are attractive biomaterials for local drug delivery owing to their excellent self-healing, injectable, biodegradable, and biocompatible properties. However, traditional drug-loading approaches based on non-covalent encapsulation and covalent bonding have shown problems such as rapid or difficult drug release, complex reaction processes, low reaction efficiency, and decreased drug activity. Therefore, there is a need to find a simple and efficient method to load drugs into hydrogels, which possess stable drug release ability without impairing drug efficacy. In this study, we introduce dynamic borate ester bonds via a simple one-pot method to load cis-o-diol-containing drugs into guanosine (G)-based supramolecular hydrogels. The experimental results confirm that the dynamic covalent borate ester bonds are formed based on the cis-o-diol groups of the drug and the G in these hydrogels. Meanwhile, the as-prepared G-based hydrogels not only possess self-healing properties and injectability but also have satisfactory biodegradability and biocompatibility. Additionally, the drug can be released from the G-based hydrogel according to the pH-responsive cleavage of the borate ester bonds without affecting drug activity. Overall, these results indicate that the simple one-pot method of utilizing the dynamic borate bond can provide a valuable reference for the design of hydrogel dosage forms.
