Polydopamine loaded fluorescent nanocellulose–agarose hydrogel: A pH-responsive drug delivery carrier for cancer therapy

Abstract

Herein, PDA-Py–CNC–AG composite hydrogel was developed by agarose, polydopamine and pyrene fluorophore labeled nanocellulose through interpenetrating polymer network strategy, which exhibited both fluorescent characteristics and pH responsive properties. Moreover, the adhesion to cells and controlled release performance to drug of the developed hydrogel was enhanced by the incorporation of polydopamine. As compared with single network hydrogel, the composite hydrogel yield a drug release up to 86.3% through a sustained drug release for 8 days at pH 5.5, the cytotoxicity was also enhanced obviously. More significantly, the fluorescent chromophore, pyrene was covalently linked to the amino group of amino-derivative nanocellulose, thereby providing attractive fluorescence properties to the synthesized hydrogel. Therefore, this composite hydrogel with multifunctional properties provides enhanced ability to cope with complexed tumor microenvironment and other challenging applications.