Embedded Living HER2+ Cells in a 3D Gelatin-Alginate Hydrogel as an In Vitro Model for Immunotherapy Delivery for Breast Cancer.

Epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) is the second target molecule most commonly used in breast cancer treatment. Both recurrence and metastasis are still deadly for HER2+ breast cancer patients. Hydrogels can be an option for developing three-dimensional (3D) cell culture systems that resemble tumor features better than monolayer cultures and could be used for preclinical screening for new biotherapeutics.

Rheological characterization of new thermosensitive hydrogels formed by chitosan, glycerophosphate, and phosphorylated β-cyclodextrin.

A novel thermosensitive hydrogel consisting of phosphorylated β-cyclodextrin (βCD-PH), β-cyclodextrin (βCD) and chitosan was prepared by embedding βCD and βCD-PH, into the well-studied chitosan/αβ-glycerophosphate system (CS/αβGP). The relevance of this work is the use of βCD-PH to partially substitute αβGP as the gelling agent. The role of βCD and βCD-PH on the rheological properties of hydrogels, gelation time, and gelation temperature were investigated.

Lysine-Grafted MCM-41 Silica as an Antibacterial Biomaterial.

This paper proposes a facile strategy for the zwitterionization of bioceramics that is based on the direct incorporation of l-lysine amino acid via the ε-amino group onto mesoporous MCM-41 materials. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) studies of lysine-grafted MCM-41 (MCM-LYS) simultaneously showed bands at 3080 and 1540 cm and bands at 1625 and 1415 cm corresponding to -NH/COO pairs, which demonstrate the incorporation of the amino acid on the material surface keeping its zwitterionic character. Both elemental and thermogravimetric analyses showed that the amount of grafted lysine was 8 wt.

Radiation grafting of N-vinylcaprolactam onto nano and macrogels of chitosan: Synthesis and characterization.

The aim of this study was to synthesize chitosan hydrogels, in macro- and nano-size, grafted with N-vinylcaprolactam (NVCL) using gamma radiation, and evaluate their potential application as a drug delivery system, using 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) as a model drug. The effect of dose and monomer concentration in the grafting process was studied, and the materials were characterized by FTIR, TGA, DLS, SEM and AFM. Higher grafting percentages were observed for the nanogels system.