Researchers at MIT have created a nanogel that can be squeezed through a needle and still retain its form once inside the body. These nanogels are not only resilient to shear stress and other mechanical deformations, but they are also self-healing. The material is made by mixing nanoparticles called PEG-PLA with another polymer, in this case, cellulose. The polymer chains form weak bonds with the nanoparticles and thus generate a matrix of loosely woven nanogels. When the nanogel is put under extreme shear stress such as being injected through a needle, the bonds between the polymer and nanoparticles break, but when conditions return to normal, the matrix reforms its bonds and heals itself.
What is great about this new development is that by using two different materials in one nanogel, scientists will be able to deliver one or two different drugs in one go. PEG-PLA nanoparticles have an inner core that makes them suitable for carrying hydrophobic molecules, whereas the other polymer is hydrophilic and can carry small molecules such as proteins, antibodies, and growth factors.
The team has already shown that the nanogel can be used as a platform for drug delivery in vivo. The group is now looking to use the gel to deliver anti-angiogenesis drugs and to program them to deliver the drugs over a longer period of time to reduce the amount of necessary injections. They also hope to use this gel to kill residual cancer cells after surgeries by having one drug lure the cancer cells towards the nanogel and the second drug be a chemotherapy agent.
Study in Nature Communications: Self-assembled hydrogels utilizing polymer-nanoparticle interactions…
MIT press release: New Nanogel for Drug Delievey…