Covalently Conjugated Hydrogelators for Imaging and Therapeutic Applications

Abstract

In recent years, research on supramolecular hydrogels for biomedical applications developed rapidly by covalently conjugating their hydrogelators with functional moieties including therapeutic agents and imaging probes. Such conjugation can not only endow hydrogels with specific functions but also enhance the performance of the functional moieties. Therefore, these evolutionary conjugates may create a great leap for the application of supramolecular hydrogels in clinical scenarios, especially in a bioimaging or a sustained drug release system. In order to draw inspiration from the rapid advancement in this field and establish cornerstones for innovative exploration in the follow-up research, herein, we review the recent advances of the covalently conjugated hydrogelators and their biomedical applications in imaging and therapies. Besides, we provide our views on the remaining challenges and a perspective on future trends of conjugated hydrogelators.

Biomolecule-functionalized nanoformulations for prostate cancer theranostics

“…2 presents a schematic overview of biofunctionalized nanomaterial advantages in cancer theranostics. The biofunctionalization of nanomaterials can be done either through non-covalent interaction which includes physical adsorption, biomolecule entrapment, ionic interaction, or covalent interaction on nanomaterial surface [48] , [49] , [50] , [51] , [52] . The non-covalent functionalization results in maintaining the conjugated skeleton as well as the inherent electronic structure whereas covalent functionalization provides more stability and reproducibility for biofunctionalized nanomaterials [53] .…”

Green Hydrogel Synthesis: Emphasis on Proteomics and Polymer Particle-Protein Interaction

“…A powerful early-stage screening technique for cancer is tumor imaging [ 210 ]. Kim et al reported an injectable magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-monitored long-term medicinal hydrogel (MLTH) for the recognition and localization of brain tumor tissues [ 211 ].…”

Weak acid-initiated slow release of Dexamethasone from hydrogel to treat orbital inflammation

“…In view of the above situation, researchers proposed that nanomaterials based on micelles, liposomes or supramolecular hydrogels could provide a new alternative to improve the stability of therapeutic drugs and maintain the long-term retention in lesions [14][15][16]. Among them, supramolecular hydrogels formed by the self-assembling of the hydrogelators into three-dimensional fibrous networks to gel large amount of water, have higher biosafety, higher drug loading efficiency and are easier to be metabolized [17][18][19][20]. In recent years, they have been widely studied and applied in the biomedical field [21,22].…”