Crosslinked poly(ethylene glycol) Hydrogels with degradable phosphamide linkers used as a drug carrier in cancer therapy

A series of degradable, water-swellable PEGs are prepared using crosslinking between primary amines of N,N′,N″-tris(2-aminoethyl) phosphoric triamide (TAEPT) and diglycidyl ether of epichlorohydrin-modified PEGs (EMPs). In the crosslinking process, the glycidyl ether is mainly consumed by the -NH₂ of TAEPT and the hydroxyl generated from the opened glycidyl ethers (C-OH), producing degradable phosphonyl-amide frameworks as crosslinked points, and ether bonds as short branches, respectively. Studies on anticancer drug entrapment, chemoimmunotherapy agent delivery, degradation, and biological cytotoxicity in vitro suggest that the generated hydrogels have great potential as biomaterials in biomedical applications. Degradable and biocompatible poly(ethylene) glycol hydrogels with phosphamide linkers prepared in a green protocol show effective doxorubicin loading efficiency and a subcutaneous implant of the doxorubicin-incorporated hydrogel in CT-26 tumor-bearing nude mice shows the highly efficient tumor suppression.