Pre‐clinical and clinical applications of thermoreversible hydrogels in biomedical engineering: a review
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Published version
Author(s)
Constantinou, Anna P
Georgiou, Theoni K
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Thermoreversible polymer hydrogels (TRGs) are physical aqueous networks triggered by temperature, that find potential applications in tissue engineering (TE) and drug/gene delivery. When systems with lower critical solution temperature (LCST) behaviour are used, the aqueous solution of polymer is mixed with cells or drugs/genes, depending on the desired application, at room temperature and then injected in vivo to form a hydrogel. This in-situ forming hydrogel acts as a matrix for tissue regeneration or controlled and targeted release of the compound. This review focuses on discussing the studies in which synthetic TRGs with LCST behaviour have been applied in vivo in model animals. These studies are categorised depending on the general structure of the polymer, as follows: i) poloxamer (also known as Pluronics®), ii) degradable polymers, iii) poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm), iv) poly(organophosphazene), and v) poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline). In general, when the system is optimised, TRGs provide sustained and topical release of the drugs, thus minimising the undesired side effects. When applied in the TE field, tissue formation was observed. Interestingly, two polymers have reached clinical trials, namely poloxamer 407 (P407, Pluronic® F127, often combined with P188, F68), and Regel® (the formulation of Regel® with the anticancer agent paclitaxel is known as Oncogel®), indicating the challenges need to be overcome before successful application in clinics.
Date Issued
2021-10-01
Date Acceptance
2021-06-03
Citation
Polymer International, 2021, 70 (10), pp.1433-1448
ISSN
0959-8103
Publisher
Wiley
Start Page
1433
End Page
1448
Journal / Book Title
Polymer International
Volume
70
Issue
10
Copyright Statement
© 2021 The Authors. Polymer International published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Industrial Chemistry.
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
License URL
Sponsor
Engineering & Physical Science Research Council (E
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
Identifier
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pi.6266
Grant Number
MMRE_P75852
EP/R511547/1
Subjects
Science & Technology
Physical Sciences
Polymer Science
thermoresponsive hydrogels
tissue engineering
drug delivery
gene delivery
in vivo applications
clinical applications
IN-SITU GEL
DRUG-DELIVERY SYSTEM
BIODEGRADABLE TRIBLOCK COPOLYMER
PLGA-PEG-PLGA
THERMOSENSITIVE HYDROGEL
THERMORESPONSIVE HYDROGELS
AQUEOUS-SOLUTIONS
CONTROLLED-RELEASE
BONE REGENERATION
BLOCK-COPOLYMERS
Polymers
0301 Analytical Chemistry
0904 Chemical Engineering
0912 Materials Engineering
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
pi.6266
Date Publish Online
2021-06-05