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Updated: Jun 27, 2025
Generation of Alginate Microspheres for Biomedical Applications
Published on: August 12, 2012
Preparation, evaluation and application of MRI detectable sunitinib-loaded calcium alginate/poly(acrylic acid)
Jijun Fu1, Guanli Lin2, Chenchen Fang2
1Guangzhou Municipal and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Molecular Target & Clinical Pharmacology, The NMPA and State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The Second Affiliated Hospital and The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 511436, PR China; The Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Qingyuan People's Hospital, Qingyuan, Guangdong 511436, PR China.
Abstract:
Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) is an effective method for the treatment of unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma. Although many embolic agents have been developed in TACE, there are few ideal embolic agents that combine drug loading, imaging properties and vessel embolization. Here, we developed novel magnetic embolic microspheres that could simultaneously load sunitinib malate (SU), be detected by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and block blood vessels. Calcium alginate/poly (acrylic acid) hydrogel microspheres (CA/PAA-MDMs) with superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) modified by citric acid were prepared by a drip and photopolymerization method. The embolization and imaging properties of CA/PAA-MDMs were evaluated through a series of experiments such as morphology, X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, magnetic responsiveness analysis, elasticity, cytotoxicity, hemolysis test, in vitro MRI evaluation, rabbit ear embolization and histopathology. In addition, the ability of drug loading and drug release of CA/PAA-MDMs were investigated by using sunitinib (SU) as the model drug. In conclusion, CA/PAA-MDMs showed outstanding drug loading capability, excellent imaging property and embolization effect, which would be expected to be used as a potential biodegradable embolic agent in the clinical interventional therapy.
