Abstract
Hydrogels are excellent candidates for the sustained local delivery of anticancer drugs, as they possess tunable physicochemical characteristics that enable to control drug release kinetics and potentially tackle the problem of systemic side effects in traditional chemotherapeutic delivery. Yet, current systems often involve complicated manufacturing or covalent bonding processes that are not compatible with regulatory or market reality. Here, we developed a novel gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA)-based drug delivery system (GelMA-DDS) for the sustained local delivery of paclitaxel-based Abraxane®, for the prevention of local breast cancer recurrence following mastectomy. GelMA-DDS readily encapsulated Abraxane® with a maximum of 96% encapsulation efficiency. The mechanical properties of the hydrogel system were not affected by drug loading. Tuning of the physical properties, by varying GelMA concentration, allowed tailoring of GelMA-DDS mesh size, where decreasing the GelMA concentration provided overall more sustained cumulative release (significant differences between 5%, 10%, and 15%) with a maximum of 75% over three months of release, identified to be released by diffusion. Additionally, enzymatic degradation, which more readily mimics the in vivo situation, followed a near zero-order rate, with a total release of the cargo at various rates (2–14 h) depending on GelMA concentration. Finally, the results demonstrated that Abraxane® delivery from the hydrogel system led to a dose-dependent reduction of viability, metabolic activity, and live-cell density of triple-negative breast cancer cells in vitro. The GelMA-DDS provides a novel and simple approach for the sustained local administration of anti-cancer drugs for breast cancer recurrence.
Highlights
Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed and the leading cause of cancer deaths in women worldwide [1]
We confirmed the successful methacrylation of gelatin and determined the degree of functionalization (DoF) of gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA)
We assessed whether the drug loading had an impact on the mechanical and swelling properties of the GelMA-drug delivery systems (DDS)
Summary
Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed and the leading cause of cancer deaths in women worldwide [1]. Breast cancer treatment commonly involves a combination of different approaches and techniques such as radiation therapy, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, targeted therapy, and/or surgery. While the common practice has evolved to favor breast-conserving surgeries (lumpectomy), around 37% of breast cancer-related surgeries are complete mastectomies [3]. Adjuvant therapies, such as radiotherapy or chemotherapy, are used after surgery to prevent cancer recurrence. Adjuvant chemotherapy is relevant in most breast cancer stages, subtypes, and often consist of systemic taxane and/or anthracycline drug administration [4,5,6]
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