Indian Researchers Develop Injectable Hydrogel for Targeted Cancer Treatment

Context: Researchers from IIT Guwahati, in collaboration with Bose Institute Kolkata, have developed an injectable hydrogel aimed at revolutionizing breast cancer treatment.

Key Features of the Injectable Hydrogel

Innovative Design

• Composed of ultra-short peptides, which are biodegradable and biocompatible.
• The hydrogel remains stable at the injection site, ensuring localized treatment.
• Activates in response to elevated glutathione (GSH) levels, a molecule found in high concentrations in tumour cells.

Precision Drug Delivery

• Releases anti-cancer drugs in a controlled manner, targeting cancer cells while sparing healthy cells.
• Minimizes systemic side effects associated with traditional chemotherapy.

About Hydrogels

• Hydrogels are three-dimensional, hydrophilic polymer networks that can retain a large amount of water while maintaining structure due to their cross-linked nature.
• They are soft and flexible, similar to natural tissue, due to their significant water content.
• Composition: Hydrogels can be made from natural or synthetic polymers, such as collagen, gelatin, polyethylene glycol (PEG), cellulose, starch, chitin and chitosan.

Applications

• Tissue engineering: Hydrogels can be used as scaffolds for tissue engineering because their structure is similar to the extracellular matrix of many tissues.
• Wound healing: Hydrogels are a common wound care solution because they are soft, moisturising and can quickly absorb and retain water.
• Drug delivery: Hydrogels can be loaded with drugs and controlled subcutaneously, orally or intramuscularly.
• Environmental Cleanup: They are also used to capture and remove pollutants, especially in water.
• Agriculture: Used to retain soil moisture, especially in arid regions.
• They are also used in Contact lenses & Diagnostic devices.

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