Evaluating Drug Efficacy in Natural Hydrogels for Encapsulation of Bacterial Ghosts Loaded with Doxorubicin

Abstract

In this study, bacterial ghosts (BGs) and hydrogels were analysed as means of drug delivery for the treatment of cancer. The BGs were loaded with drugs and hydrogels, providing a platform for various physiochemical interactions to control drug release. In particular, the study focused on loading BGs with the anticancer drug Doxorubicin and encapsulating them in the following four hydrogels: Agarose, Agar, Sodium Alginate, and Aloe Vera. The hydrogels were characterized and found to have pH-responsive properties, which enabled precise medication administration. Agarose hydrogel was identified as the most suitable candidate for drug delivery, as it showed excellent drug release, good pH sensitivity, increased flexibility, mechanical stability, and drug content. Fourier Transformed Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis was used to confirm the functional groups of all hydrogels and (Scanning Electron Microscopy) SEM was used to identify the BGs’ shape. Drug release from all hydrogels was confirmed using UV-Vis Spectroscopy and their strength was evaluated through Compression Testing. Macroscopic Diffusion Experiments were conducted to determine which hydrogel showed the best transport performance using a model solute (Rhodamine-6B) dye. The study showed that the delivery medium’s pH significantly impacted Doxorubicin release from the hydrogels; with Agarose hydrogel demonstrating pH-responsive drug administration. Agarose exhibited a burst release at pH 3.0 (within 3 hours), controlled release at the selected pH of 6.5 until (24 hours), and complete drug release at pH 7.5 up until (48 hours). All four hydrogels were determined to be non-cytotoxic, showing that they have the capacity to be used as drug delivery systems in biological applications. Hence, the following study presents a novel approach to accelerate the development of controlled-release hydrogels for drug delivery systems and offers a unique analytical methodology which can be replicated in future investigations to understand the composition-structure-performance correlations in new hydrogel materials. Overall, the study's findings suggest that combining BGs with hydrogels have a potential for improving cancer treatment through efficient drug delivery.