INJECTABLE HYBRID HYDROGELS FOR LOCAL CHEMOTHERAPY OR TUMOR-SPECIFIC RESECTION

The aim of my thesis is to develop cutting-edge and innovative delivery system able to encapsulate active molecules against cancer. The purpose is to have a material that can target directly the tumoral environment, avoiding the toxicity to surrounded organs and enhancing the local pharmacological activity. Moreover, the use of a polymeric material, that can serve as a scaffold to deliver nanoparticles crosslinked between the network can increase the efficacy and bioavailability. For this reason, using both chemical and physical crosslinking strategies to make a hybrid material between polymer and nanoparticles could be investigated as a potential material used for minimally invasive surgery and for cancer treatment. The controlled drug release and the targeted delivery are essential parameters that need to be controlled in order to have active compound in a tumoral environment released at a certain dose over the time.