Although there is a great effort to synthesize effective hydrogels, clinical applications of smart hydrogels have been limited. It seems that it is necessary to develop novel hydrogels that meet the requirements of specific applications, rather than finding applications of newly developed hydrogels. Furthermore, it is necessary to develop smarter hydrogels that can mimic natural systems. By combining precise synthesis with multifunctional materials, we have synthesized a smart hydrogel that delivers drugs selectively to cancer cells. The macromolecular architecture as well as the molecular characteristics of each block along with the materials used, were carefully optimized in order to result a hydrogel that has an inherent property to fight pancreatic cancer. The polymeric material that forms the hydrogel is a fully peptidic polymer. The polymer has the appropriate macromolecular architecture to form strong physical hydrogels. The main component of the smart hydrogel is the multifunctional material poly(L-histidine), which is pH- and temperature responsive. After a long time research, we fine-tuned the molecular characteristics and the chemical nature to result a hydrogel with the following properties: 1. Physically forming 2. In situ forming 3. Self-healing within 5 seconds 4. Injectable 5. pH-responsive between the healthy and cancer tissue pH values 6. Temperature-responsive within healthy and cancer tissue temperatures 7. Exhibits buffering capacity 8. Last in vivo for more than two weeks 9. Non-cytotoxic for more than 400 mg/Kg, according to NCI standards 10 Biodegradable 11. The self-organization is based to the 3D structure of polypeptides, not to the solubility transition 12. Strongly adhere to tissues in order to remain at the initial position after These properties resulted to a polymer that has the inherent property to form an impressive hydrogel that delivers directionally and selectively gemcitabine towards the cancer tissue rather healthy tissue, in a controlled and sustained manner.

Smart hydrogels based on poly(L-histidine) for drug delivery to treat pancreatic cancer

249th National Meeting (2015)

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