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Prodrugs as self-assembled hydrogels: a new paradigm for biomaterials

2013; Elsevier BV; Volume: 24; Issue: 6 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/j.copbio.2013.02.006

1879-0429

Praveen Kumar Vemula, Nikken Wiradharma, James A. Ankrum, Oscar R. Miranda, George John, Jeffrey M. Karp,

Advanced Drug Delivery Systems

Prodrug-based self-assembled hydrogels represent a new class of active biomaterials that can be harnessed for medical applications, in particular the design of stimuli responsive drug delivery devices. In this approach, a promoiety is chemically conjugated to a known-drug to generate an amphiphilic prodrug that is capable of forming self-assembled hydrogels. Prodrug-based self-assembled hydrogels are advantageous as they alter the solubility of the drug, enhance drug loading, and eliminate the use of harmful excipients. In addition, self-assembled prodrug hydrogels can be designed to undergo controlled drug release or tailored degradation in response to biological cues. Herein we review the development of prodrug-based self-assembled hydrogels as an emerging class of biomaterials that overcome several common limitations encountered in conventional drug delivery.