E-Beam Radiation Processing of Semisolid Hydrogel for Doxorubicine Drug Delivery ^†

Hydrogels used as local delivery systems are a viable alternative for the local administration of anti-tumor medications to overcome the side effects of oral or intravenous administration induced by chemotherapeutics. Hydrogels are considered the best alternative for cancer treatment because they allow non-invasive release, effectively support the local and gradual release of anticancer drugs, increase drug solubility and bioavailability, offer high stability and controlled drug release, and may also help reduce the total dose required. Herein, we designed and developed a novel semisolid hydrogel composed of collagen gel (calfskin), sodium carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), and polyethylene oxide (PEO) using e-beam irradiation as the crosslinking method. According to experimental results of loading and in vitro release, the semisolid hydrogel loaded 1145 ± 1% ng of doxorubicine (DOX) and released different amounts of DOX, such as 120 ± 0.5% ng/cm² at pH 6.4 and 150 ± 0.2% ng/cm² at pH 7.4, for a period of 0.5 to 60 hours. In addition to the progressive release of DOX, the hydrogel retains its structure, is transparent, allows observation of the affected tissue, and has elastic properties unique to hydrogel-type systems. The semisolid hydrogel can be used as an absorbent material with regenerative properties and as a biocompatible polymeric matrix for the progressive delivery of DOX, a broad-spectrum anticancer drug.