Title:Natural Hydrogels Applied in Photodynamic Therapy
VOLUME: 27 ISSUE: 16
Author(s): Zhipan Feng, Shiying Lin, Andrew McDonagh* and Chen Yu*
Affiliation:School of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney NSW 2007, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081
Keywords:Photodynamic therapy, natural polymer, hydrogel, PDT, ROS, reactive oxygen species.
Abstract:Natural hydrogels are three-dimensional (3D) water-retaining materials with a skeleton consisting
of natural polymers, their derivatives or mixtures. Natural hydrogels can provide sustained or
controlled drug release and possess some unique properties of natural polymers, such as biodegradability,
biocompatibility and some additional functions, such as CD44 targeting of hyaluronic acid. Natural
hydrogels can be used with photosensitizers (PSs) in photodynamic therapy (PDT) to increase the range
of applications. In the current review, the pertinent design variables are discussed along with a description
of the categories of natural hydrogels available for PDT.