ABC triblock bottlebrush copolymer-based injectable hydrogels: design, synthesis, and application to expanding the therapeutic index of cancer immunochemotherapy
Farrukh Vohidov, Lauren E. Milling, Qixian Chen, Wenxu Zhang, Sachin Bhagchandani, Hung V.‐T. Nguyen, Darrell J. Irvine, Jeremiah A. Johnson
Abstract
. Specifically, intratumoral administration of TBCs containing paclitaxel and resiquimod-the latter a potent Toll-like receptor (TLR) 7/8 agonist-into mice bearing subcutaneous CT26 tumors resulted in a significantly enhanced therapeutic index compared to the administration of these two drugs alone. This effect is attributed to the TBC hydrogel maintaining a high local drug concentration, thus reducing systemic immune activation and local inflammation. Collectively, this work represents, to our knowledge, the first example of thermally-responsive TBCs designed for multi-compartment hydrogel formation, establishing these materials as versatile scaffolds for self-assembly and drug delivery.