S,S-Tetrazine-Based Hydrogels with Visible Light Cleavable Properties for On-Demand Anticancer Drug Delivery
Changping Wang,
Chongyi Liu,
Qiyao Wei,
Lei Yang,
Peng Yang,
Yiwen Li,
Yiyun Cheng
Affiliations
Changping Wang
South China Advanced Institute for Soft Matter Science and Technology, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China
Chongyi Liu
Shanghai Key Laboratory of Regulatory Biology, School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China
Qiyao Wei
Shanghai Key Laboratory of Regulatory Biology, School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China
Lei Yang
College of Polymer Science and Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China
Peng Yang
College of Polymer Science and Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China
Yiwen Li
College of Polymer Science and Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China
Yiyun Cheng
South China Advanced Institute for Soft Matter Science and Technology, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China; Shanghai Key Laboratory of Regulatory Biology, School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China
Photocleavable hydrogels are of great importance in the field of controlled drug delivery, stem cell fate regulation, surface patterning, and intelligent devices. However, the development of novel photocleavable gel systems by visible light is usually met with challenges such as the lack of efficient and tunable photocleavable groups and reactions. Herein, we reported the facile fabrication of a new type of photocleavable hydrogels by the direct gelation of 4-arm thiol-terminated polyethylene glycol with 3,6-dichloro-1,2,4,5-tetrazine via the formation of S,S-tetrazine linkages. The prepared hydrogels underwent efficient degradation upon irradiation by ultraviolet or green light, and the degradation kinetics could be significantly promoted by hydrogen peroxide. Correspondingly, the hydrogels loaded with calcium peroxide microparticles or glucose oxidase/catalase enzymes enabled the precise and efficient in vivo photocontrol of gel degradation and drug release for cancer treatment. This work offers a promising and facile strategy towards the fabrication of visible light cleavable hydrogels with tunable and on-demand drug release properties.
