An injectable thermosensitive photothermal-network hydrogel for near-infrared-triggered drug delivery and synergistic photothermal-chemotherapy.

Near-infrared (NIR)-responsive hydrogels have exhibited remarkable advantages in biomedical applications especially for in situ therapeutic delivery, because of their deep-tissue penetration capacity, minimal invasiveness, and high spatiotemporal selectivity. Nevertheless, conventional NIR-responsive nanocomposite hydrogels suffer from the disadvantages of limited photothermal effect and potential leakage of the physically mixed photothermal nanoagents. To overcome these limitations, we herein designed an injectable thermosensitive photothermal-network hydrogel (PNT-gel) through the host-guest self-assembly of a photothermal conjugated polymers and ɑ-cyclodextrin.

NIR-II light-modulated thermosensitive hydrogel for light-triggered cisplatin release and repeatable chemo-photothermal therapy.

Cisplatin is one of the most effective chemotherapeutic agents, although its clinical use is limited by severe nephrotoxicity. Multifunctional platform for spatiotemporally controlled delivery of cisplatin and multimodal synergistic therapy is highly desirable in antitumor research. Herein, for the first time, an injectable, NIR-II light-modulated and thermosensitive hydrogel is synthesized through supramolecular self-assembly of a conjugated polymer and α-cyclodextrin.