Abstract

A HYDROGEL BASED DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEM FOR CANCER THERAPY & OTHER APPLICATIONS

Sonika A. Nalawade*, Manisha B. Parhad, Dr. Gajanan S. Sanap

ABSTRACT

Hydrogels are cross-linked structures made of hydrophilic polymers that swell with water. By forming cross-links and linking them with ionic or covalent bonds, they become three-dimensional. Due to their exceptional qualities, which include high mechanical integrity, biodegradability, compatibility with other biological molecules, high swelling capacity, high water content, and controlled chemical and physical properties, hydrogels have been used in a variety of fields, including industry and medicine. Their potential for use in various industries and fields has drawn the attention of researchers during the last fifty years. They are utilized in many different domains, including medical, illness diagnosis, cell culture, wound healing, cosmetics, and also used in treatment of Cancer therapy. Hybrid hydrogels that are injectable, self-care, and pH-responsive show great potential asmaterial for the regulated, long-term release of drugs in the treatment of cancer. Worldwide, cancer continues to be the second most common cause of death. Even with the significant progress made over the past few decades, advanced stages of the disease are still incurable. A safe and effective anticancer therapy is hampered by the severe side effects of very high doses of chemotherapy and the growth of resistance to drugs. With a focus on the use of pH-, light-, ionic strength-, and magnetic-responsive hydrogels, the current work attempts to outline the most important developments observed in the last decades as well as the key characteristics and applications of stimuli-responsive hydrogels in cancer treatment.

Keywords: Injectable Hydrogel, Drug delivery, Localized Chemotherapy, Peptide self-assembly, local cancer treatment, Breast cancer, lungs cancer, brain cancer.