| Incomplete delivery of drugs to the cancerous tissue and the drug resistance mechanisms limit the medical
applications of anticancer drugs. Colloidal systems offers many advantages owing to the non-invasive way of
drug administration as well as centralized delivery of anti-cancer drugs to tumor tissue. Nanogels (Ngs) as a part
of these colloidal systems have a good perspective for their ability to incorporate and encapsulate low-molecularmass drugs, bio-macromolecules, and proteins. Therefore, we developed pH and redox-responsive Ngs to provide
a hopeful prospect for targeted delivery of anti-cancer drugs in cancer cells. For this purpose, chitosan (CS) was
first modified with a chain transfer agent (CTA) and then, the polymerization of 2-Hydroxyethyl methacrylate
(HEMA) monomer occurred to create (CTS-g-PHEMA). Hydroxyl groups of HEMA reacted with maleic anhydride
molecules to prepare CTS-g-PHEMA-maleic acid (MAc). Finally, the double bonds of MAc were used for the
grafting of N, N′ bis(acryloyl) cystamine (BAC) as a crosslinker agent to prepare redox-sensitive Ngs. The biocompatibility, chemical structures, DOX loading capacity, content of the drug released and in-vitro cytotoxicity
effects were also studied. As a result, it is expected that Ngs can be applied as a potential nanomedicine carrier
for the treatment of cancer. |