A local drug delivery system based on visible light-cured glycol chitosan and doxorubicin⋅hydrochloride for thyroid cancer treatment in vitro and in vivo

• Main Authors: Youngbum Yoo, Sun-Jung Yoon, So Yeon Kim, Deok-Won Lee, Sewook Um, Hoon Hyun, Sung Ok Hong, Dae Hyeok Yang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2018-01-01
• Series: Drug Delivery
• Subjects: glycol chitosan; visible light irradiation; doxorubicin⋅hydrochloride; local drug delivery system; thyroid cancer
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10717544.2018.1507058

Systemic drug delivery systems (SDDSs) for thyroid cancer treatment are associated with serious side effects including nausea, anorexia, and hair loss as a result of damage to normal tissues. In this study, we investigated the feasibility of a local DDS (LDDS) based on visible light-cured glycol chitosan (GC) hydrogel and doxorubicin⋅hydrochloride (DOX⋅HCl), called GC10/DOX, on thyroid cancer treatment in vivo. Visible light irradiation increased the storage modulus and swelling ratio of the GC10/DOX hydrogel precursor. The release of DOX⋅HCl from GC10/DOX exhibited two unique patterns comprising an initial burst within 18 hours, followed by a controlled and sustained release thereafter. In vitro cell viability testing showed that GC10/DOX had a greater antitumor effect than free DOX⋅HCl and GC10 hydrogel controls. In vivo, local injection of GC10/DOX near tumor tissue led to a superior antitumor effect compared with controls consisting of free DOX⋅HCl intravenously injected to the tail vein of thyroid cancer-bearing mouse and GC10 hydrogel subcutaneously injected near the tumor. Altogether, our results suggest that GC10/DOX may have clinical potential for thyroid cancer treatment.