(401) Design of Supramolecular Hydrogelators for Enhanced Drug Loading and Sustained Therapeutic Release
Introduction: Designing drug delivery systems for local, controlled release of drugs is critical to reducing side effects and improving drug efficacy. Hydrogels composed of peptide amphiphiles (PAs) co-assembled with small-molecule drugs, are biocompatible, highly tunable, and capable of sustained, local release [1,2].Herein, we explore a novel design of a self-assembling PA hydrogel that leverages electrostatic and π–π stacking interactions resulting in high loading capacity/encapsulation efficiency, extended in vivo release, and sustained therapeutic effect of a promising hypertension drug (FTY720).
Learning Objectives:
Explain why slow, sustained release is important for drug delivery platforms.
Understand how peptide conjugate hydrogelators can self-assemble for the local delivery of drugs.
Describe why the long-acting release of the drug FTY720 can effectively treat hypertension.
