pH-Triggered Hydrogel Nanoparticles for Efficient Anticancer Drug Delivery and Bioimaging Applications

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Drug Delivery Systems

Background:

• Developing multifunctional nanoparticles is crucial for advanced cancer therapy.
• Hydrogel nanoparticles offer versatile platforms for drug encapsulation and imaging.
• Integrating imaging agents with therapeutic payloads enables theranostics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop multifunctional hydrogel nanoparticles (NPs) capable of co-encapsulating anticancer drugs and imaging agents.
• To characterize the optical properties and drug-loading efficiency of the developed NPs.
• To evaluate the in vitro performance, including drug release and cellular uptake, for potential imaging-guided therapy.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of succinated polyvinyl alcohol (PVA-SA) based hydrogel nanoparticles.
• Encapsulation of Mitomycin C (MMC) as an anticancer drug model and Rhodamine B (RB) as an imaging contrast agent model.
• Characterization of NP optical properties (quantum yield, emission stability, fluorescence lifetime) and drug-binding efficiency.
• Assessment of pH-dependent drug release, cytotoxicity, and in vitro cellular uptake.

Main Results:

• Hydrogel NPs significantly improved Rhodamine B (RB) quantum yield and emission stability.
• Polymeric interactions enhanced RB fluorescence lifetime, indicating suitability for imaging.
• High Mitomycin C (MMC) binding efficiency (≥92%) was achieved.
• pH-dependent MMC release and significant cytotoxicity under acidic conditions were observed.
• In vitro studies confirmed cytoplasmic accumulation of MMC-loaded NPs.

Conclusions:

• The developed multifunctional hydrogel NPs exhibit enhanced optical properties for imaging applications.
• These NPs demonstrate high drug-loading efficiency and controlled, pH-responsive drug release.
• The findings support the potential of these NPs for advanced imaging-guided cancer therapy.