Local Affinity Release

The use of hydrogels for therapeutic delivery is a burgeoning area of investigation. These water-swollen polymer matrices are ideal platforms for localized drug delivery that can be further combined with specific ligands or nanotechnologies to advance the controlled release of small-molecule drugs and proteins. Due to the advantage of hydrophobic, electrostatic, or specific extracellular matrix interactions, affinity-based strategies can overcome burst release and challenges associated with encapsulation. Future studies will provide innovative binding tools, truly stimuli-responsive systems, and original combinations of emerging technologies to control the release of therapeutics spatially and temporally. Local drug delivery can be achieved by directly injecting a therapeutic to its site of action and is advantageous because off-target effects associated with systemic delivery can be minimized. For prolonged benefit, a vehicle that provides sustained drug release is required. Hydrogels are versatile platforms for localized drug release, owing to the large library of biocompatible building blocks from which they can be formed. Injectable hydrogel formulations that gel quickly in situ and provide sustained release of therapeutics are particularly advantageous to minimize invasiveness. The incorporation of polymers, ligands or nanoparticles that have an affinity for the therapeutic of interest improve control over the release of small-molecule drugs and proteins from hydrogels, enabling spatial and temporal control over the delivery. Such affinity-based strategies can overcome drug burst release and challenges associated with protein instability, allowing more effective therapeutic molecule delivery for a range of applications from therapeutic contact lenses to ischemic tissue regeneration.