Switching the Mode of Drug Release from a Reaction-Coupled Low-Molecular-Weight Gelator System by Altering Its Reaction Pathway.

ABSTRACT: Low-molecular-weight hydrogels are attractive scaffolds for drug delivery applications because of their modular and facile preparation starting from inexpensive molecular components. The molecular design of the hydrogelator results in a commitment to a particular release strategy, where either noncovalent or covalent bonding of the drug molecule dictates its rate and mechanism. Herein, we demonstrate an alternative approach using a reaction-coupled gelator to tune drug release in a facile and user-defined manner by altering the reaction pathway of the low-molecular-weight gelator (LMWG) and drug components through an acylhydrazone-bond-forming reaction. We show that an off-the-shelf drug with a reactive handle, doxorubicin, can be covalently bound to the gelator through its ketone moiety w

SUBMITTER: Noteborn WEM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9832487 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature