Medical Design Briefs - September 2023 - 22

Hyrogels
Additionally, hydrogels can be designed
to degrade over time. This allows the insulin
implant to be broken down by the body
once its use has finished and prevents any
kind of toxic buildup from happening.
Targeted Cancer Treatments
There are a couple of mechanisms
through which light can be used to alter
the properties of a hydrogel. One of
these mechanisms is incorporating compounds
that degrade when interacting
with light. Hydrogels made from these
compounds will break apart when exposed
to light.
In this way, highly targeted cancer
treatments can be developed to direct anticancer
drugs only toward compromised
cells. A hydrogel loaded with drugs can
be injected into a cancer site - once positioned
- and a small point of light can
be used to break down the gel, targeting
the release of the drugs toward cancerous
cells, leaving healthy ones unharmed.
Additionally, the extracellular environment
of a cancer cell is slightly acidic,
in contrast to the slightly alkaline pH
of healthy tissue. A pH-responsive hydrogel
can be developed that only releases
anticancer drugs when in the acidic environment
created by cancer cells. This
can reduce the amount of healthy tissue
that incidentally gets targeted by the
same treatment.
Conclusion
Hydrogels are a proven material used
within the wound care industry. They
are valued for their cooling, soothing,
healing properties, and absorptive characteristics.
Outside of the field of wound
care, the applications of hydrogels have
been expanded into the drug-delivery
space.
Topical drug delivery is already well
explored, with active ingredients being
absorbed into the body through the
skin. This has expanded into more advanced
areas, such as ocular and oral
drug-delivery systems.
The cutting edge of hydrogels for
drug delivery lies with stimuli-responsive
hydrogels. These gels can provide highly
controlled and targeted drug release
within the body. They benefit the treatment
of a wide range of conditions, including
cancer and diabetes.
References
1. Rykowska I, Nowak I, Nowak R, " Soft Contact
Lenses as Drug Delivery Systems: A Review; " Molecules,
2021, September 26, https://www.mdpi.
com/1420-3049/26/18/5577.
2. Li J, Mooney DJ, " Designing hydrogels for controlled
drug delivery, " Nat Rev Mater; 2016, December
1, https://www.nature.com/articles/
natrevmats201671.
3. Jacob S, Nair AB, Shah J, Sreeharsha N, Gupta S,
and Shinu P, " Emerging Role of Hydrogels in
Drug Delivery Systems, Tissue Engineering and
Wound Management, " Pharmaceutics; 2021, March
8, https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4923/13/3/357.
4. Mohanty AR, Ravikumar A, and Peppas NA, " Recent
advances in glucose-responsive insulin delivery
systems: novel hydrogels and future applications; "
Regen Biomater, 2022, August 23, https://
academic.oup.com/rb/article/doi/10.1093/rb/
rbac056/6673923.
This article was written by Bill Fraser,
Product Development Scientist, Scapa
Healthcare, Ramsbury, UK. For more information,
contact healthcare@scapa.
com or visit www.scapahealthcare.com.
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Medical Design Briefs, September 2023

https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/26/18/5577 https://www.nature.com/articles/natrevmats201671 https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4923/13/3/357 https://academic.oup.com/rb/article/doi/10.1093/rb/rbac056/6673923 http://www.scapahealthcare.com http://info.hotims.com/84483-812 http://www.medicaldesignbriefs.com

Medical Design Briefs - September 2023

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