Porous hydrogel microspheres with excellent temperature-sensitive, magnetic and fluorescent properties for drug delivery

Abstract

Porous hydrogel microspheres with temperature-sensitive, magnetic and fluorescent properties have great potential for drug delivery. In this study, porous hydrogel microspheres with excellent temperature-sensitive, magnetic and fluorescent properties were prepared through droplet microfluidics and photoinitiated radical polymerization, which were characterized via scanning electron microscopy (SEM), vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM), fluorescence spectroscopy, ultraviolet spectrophotometry, and other techniques. The volumetric phase-transition temperature of porous hydrogel microspheres was in the range of 40–45 °C, and the volume swelling ratio reached 5.26 as the temperature decreased from 55 °C to 25 °C. Meanwhile, the saturation magnetization and optimal fluorescence emission wavelength of porous hydrogel microspheres were 1.79 emu g⁻¹ and 616 nm, respectively, which can be an effective strategy to visually monitor and control the speed of drug release during magnetic heat therapy. Finally, bovine serum albumin (BSA) was employed as a model drug to investigate the drug loading and release of porous hydrogel microspheres. The maximal drug loading amount was 238 mg g⁻¹, and the drug release speed and amount can be correspondingly promoted by altering the temperature.