Page 280 - IJB-9-3

International Journal of Bioprinting

RESEARCH ARTICLE
3D-printed PNAGA thermosensitive hydrogel-

based microrobots: An effective cancer therapy
by temperature-triggered drug release

Yan Zhou, Min Ye, Hongyu Zhao, Xiaopu Wang*

Shenzhen Institute of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics for Society (AIRS), The Chinese University
of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518129, China

Abstract

Hydrogels with temperature-responsive capabilities are increasingly utilized and
researched owing to their prospective applications in the biomedical field. In
this work, we developed thermosensitive poly-N-acryloyl glycinamide (PNAGA)
hydrogels-based microrobots by using the advanced two-photon polymerization
printing technology. N-acryloyl glycinamide (NAGA) concentration-dependent
thermosensitive performance was presented and the underlying mechanism behind
was discussed. Fast swelling behavior was achieved by PNAGA-100 at 45°C with a
growth rate of 22.5%, which is the highest value among these PNAGA hydrogels.
In addition, a drug release test of PNAGA-100-based thermosensitive hydrogels was
conducted. Our microrobots demonstrate higher drug release amount at 45°C (close
to body temperature) than at 25°C, indicating their great potential to be utilized in
drug delivery in the human body. Furthermore, PNAGA-100-based thermosensitive
*Corresponding author: microrobots are able to swim along the route as designed under the magnetic
Xiaopu Wang actuator after incubating with Fe@ZIF-8 crystals. Our biocompatible thermosensitive
(wangxiaopu@cuhk.edu.cn)
magnetic microrobots open up new options for biomedical applications and
Citation: Zhou Y, Ye M, Zhao H, our work provides a robust pathway to the development of high-performance
et al., 2023, 3D-printed PNAGA thermosensitive hydrogel-based microrobots.
thermosensitive hydrogel-based
microrobots: An effective cancer
therapy by temperature-triggered
drug release. Int J Bioprint, 9(3): Keywords: 3D printing; PNAGA thermosensitive hydrogel; Swelling; Drug release;
709. Magnetic microrobot
https://doi.org/10.18063/ijb.709
Received: November 8, 2022
Accepted: December 22, 2022
Published Online: March 15, 2023 1. Introduction
Copyright: © 2023 Author(s).
This is an Open Access article Recent years have witnessed increasing interest in developing hydrogels because of their
distributed under the terms of the good mechanical properties, hydrophilicity, and biocompatibility [1-7] . Temperature-
Creative Commons Attribution responsive hydrogels, which can autonomously change physical and/or chemical
License, permitting distribution
and reproduction in any medium, properties when temperature changes, are the research frontier of advanced functional
provided the original work is materials science [8-11] . A series of temperature-responsive thermosensitive hydrogels
properly cited. have been reported in recent years [12-14] . Poly(n-isopropylacrylamide) (pNIPAM) is one
Publisher’s Note: Whioce of the prime examples with a low critical solution temperature (LCST) value close to
Publishing remains neutral with human body temperature and exhibits obvious shrinkage properties around an LCST
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional of ~32°C. pNIPAM has been widely used in many fields, such as drug delivery, tissue
affiliations. regeneration and artificial muscles [15-19] .

Volume 9 Issue 3 (2023) 272 https://doi.org/10.18063/ijb.709