pH/NIR light-responsive carboxymethyl starch/sodium alginate/MXene hydrogel beads for doxorubicin delivery

The evolution of responsive drug delivery systems capable of responding to external stimuli is the core driving force behind the development of customized biomaterials for medical oncology. Herein, we prepared the novel carboxymethyl starch/sodium alginate/MXene (CMS-SA-MXene@DOX) hydrogel beads by mixing two-dimensional MXene nanosheets, carboxymethyl starch (CMS), and sodium alginate (SA), which could be efficiently loaded with the anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX), and responded to pH/near-infrared light (NIR). With the incorporation of MXene, the drug loading capacity reached 31.02 %. Furthermore, upon exposure to 808 nm NIR radiation, these beads exhibited remarkable stability in simulated gastric environments due to their pH-dependent swelling properties, while simultaneously facilitating controlled DOX release in simulated intestinal condition. In vitro, the results revealed that the kinetic process of drug release from beads conformed to the Ritger-Peppas mathematical model and was mainly influenced by the combined effects of diffusion, swelling, and erosion mechanisms. Further cellular studies confirmed that CMS-SA-MXene@DOX exhibited excellent biocompatibility with HL-7702 cells and demonstrated potent antiproliferative effects on HepG2 cancer cells. The obtained hydrogel beads with good biocompatibility, high drug loading capacity, pH, and NIR responsiveness will have promising applications in future drug delivery systems.