Actuation-Mediated Compression of a Mechanoresponsive Hydrogel by Soft Robotics to Control Release of Therapeutic Proteins.

ABSTRACT: Therapeutic proteins, the fastest growing class of pharmaceuticals, are subject to rapid proteolytic degradation in vivo, rendering them inactive. Sophisticated drug delivery systems that maintain protein stability, prolong therapeutic effects, and reduce administration frequency are urgently required. Herein, a mechanoresponsive hydrogel is developed contained within a soft robotic drug delivery (SRDD) device. In a step-change from previously reported systems, pneumatic actuation of this system releases the cationic therapeutic protein Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) in a bioactive form which is required for therapeutic angiogenesis, the growth of new blood vessels, in numerous clinical conditions. The ability of the SRDD device to release bioactive VEGF in a spatiotemporal mann

SUBMITTER: Wallace EJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11831469 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature