An injectable hybrid hydrogel based on a genetically engineered polypeptide for second near-infrared fluorescence/photoacoustic imaging-monitored sustained chemo-photothermal therapy. Issue 34 (21st August 2019) - Jin, Ruimei
Abstract : An injectable multifunctional hydrogel based on an engineered polypeptide, Ag2 S quantum dots, and paclitaxel has been developed for sustained chemo-photothermal therapy. Abstract : An injectable multifunctional hydrogel based on an engineered coiled-coil polypeptide, Ag2 S quantum dots (QDs), and paclitaxel (PTX) has been developed for sustained chemo-photothermal therapy. Oil-soluble Ag2 S QDs and PTX were first loaded into nanogels formed with engineered polypeptide PC10 A by ultrasonic treatment to prepare PC10 A/Ag2 S QD/PTX nanogels. The multifunctional PC10 A/Ag2 S QD/PTX hydrogels were prepared by dissolving the PC10 A/Ag2 S QD/PTX nanogels into the PC10 A hydrogel. The PC10 A/Ag2 S QD/PTX hydrogel can be injected directly into the site of tumors. In vitro and in vivo toxicity results showed that the PC10 A/Ag2 S QD/PTX hydrogel presented excellent biocompatibility. Compared with single near-infrared photothermal therapy and chemotherapy, the combined therapy could effectively suppress the growth of SKOV3 ovarian carcinoma tumor. In addition, real-time monitoring of the in vivo degradation of the PC10 A/Ag2 S QD/PTX hydrogel was achieved by near-infrared fluorescence imaging and photoacoustic imaging. These results demonstrated that this injectable multifunctional PC10 A/Ag2 S QD/PTX hydrogel has the potential as a theranostic platform for sustained cancer treatments.