An injectable hydrogel for co-delivery of immunotherapy and chemotherapy drugs

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Delivering drugs directly to the site of a tumor is attractive because it reduces systemic toxicities and allows for delivering higher doses of drugs at the tumor site. This project aims to develop a drug-eluting shear-thinning material capable of delivering multiple drugs to a tumor using minimally-invasive surgeries. We have recently developed a nanocomposite hydrogel composed of gelatin and a synthetic nanoclay that is biodegradable and biocompatible. The proposed hydrogel undergoes a reversible reduction in viscosity upon exposure to high shear stresses; thereby, it can be injected through medical catheters or surgical needles with a minimum required force. To deliver this material, we will utilize our patent-pending hand-held injection device that enables the precise delivery of hydrogels. In this project, we will collaborate with our partner at MIT to load immunotherapy agents onto the hydrogel and determine optimum drug dosages and release profiles that maximize the therapeutic outcomes of the drugs. To achieve this goal, a fourth-year Ph.D. student will be sent to our international collaborator's lab to gain hands-on experience in molecular cell bioengineering techniques and to use them in a scientific-class application. This project helps the trainee develop research skills such as quantitative experimental assays, patient-derived cell culture methodology, and cancer immunotherapy, which are required to achieve the goals of this proposal.