Facile Synthesis of an Injectable Redox/pH Dual Stimuli-responsive Hydrogel System for Drug Release

Ning Duan; Xin-Ran Luo; Yan-Di Zhou; Jun-Yu Chai; Ji-Zhen Wang; Jing Gao; Hui-Fang Ye; Su-Yan Shan; Yong Liu; Chang-Chun Yu

doi:10.1007/s10118-026-3558-0

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Facile Synthesis of an Injectable Redox/pH Dual Stimuli-responsive Hydrogel System for Drug Release

RESEARCH ARTICLE | Updated：2026-03-26

- Facile Synthesis of an Injectable Redox/pH Dual Stimuli-responsive Hydrogel System for Drug Release
- Chinese Journal of Polymer Science Vol. 44, Issue 4, Pages: 1114-1125(2026)
- Affiliations：
  
  a.Laboratory of Novel Optoelectronic Technology for Ophthalmic Devices (NOTOD), School of Ophthalmology and Optometry, School of Biomedical Engineering, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou 325027, China
  b.National Engineering Research Center of Ophthalmology and Optometry, Eye Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou 325027, China
  c.Department of vitreous and retinal center, Affiliated Eye Hospital of WenZhou Medical University, Hangzhou 310020, China
  d.Department of Ophthalmology the First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310003, China
- Author bio：
  
  yongliu@wmu.edu.cn (Y.L.)
  changchun@wmu.edu.cn (C.C.Y.)
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1007/s10118-026-3558-0
  CLC：
- Received：13 October 2025，
  
  Revised：2025-12-08，
  
  Accepted：16 January 2026，
  
  Online First：03 March 2026，
  
  Published：05 April 2026
- Accepted：
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Duan, N.; Luo, X. R.; Zhou, Y. D.; Chai, J. Y.; Wang, J. Z.; Gao, J.; Ye, H. F.; Shan, S. Y.; Liu, Y.; Yu, C. C. Facile synthesis of an injectable redox/pH dual stimuli-responsive hydrogel system for drug release. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2026, 44, 1114–1125

Ning Duan, Xin-Ran Luo, Yan-Di Zhou, et al. Facile Synthesis of an Injectable Redox/pH Dual Stimuli-responsive Hydrogel System for Drug Release[J]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2026, 44(4): 1114-1125.
Duan, N.; Luo, X. R.; Zhou, Y. D.; Chai, J. Y.; Wang, J. Z.; Gao, J.; Ye, H. F.; Shan, S. Y.; Liu, Y.; Yu, C. C. Facile synthesis of an injectable redox/pH dual stimuli-responsive hydrogel system for drug release. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2026, 44, 1114–1125 DOI： 10.1007/s10118-026-3558-0.

Ning Duan, Xin-Ran Luo, Yan-Di Zhou, et al. Facile Synthesis of an Injectable Redox/pH Dual Stimuli-responsive Hydrogel System for Drug Release[J]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2026, 44(4): 1114-1125. DOI： 10.1007/s10118-026-3558-0.

摘要

An injectable PEDOT@BEV hydrogel with dual redox/pH-responsiveness is developed for smart drug delivery. It shows rapid release under pathological cues of acidic/alkaline pH and ROS while remaining stable physiologically. It is effective in inhibiting angiogenesis

in vitro

and in corneal neovascularization model.

Abstract

Multiresponsive hydrogels

capable of responding to more than one external stimulus

have demonstrated great utility in biomedical applications. This study presents a facile method for preparing an injectable

dual redox/pH-responsive hydrogel system based on poly(3

4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(4-styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) for the controlled delivery of pharmacologically active bevacizumab (BEV). The hydrogel system was fabricated

via

a one-step physical crosslinking process by mixing PEDOT:PSS with BEV

leveraging electrostatic interactions

hydrogen bonding

and ionic crosslinking. The resulting PEDOT@BEV system exhibited a homogeneously porous structure

robust mechanical stability

and good biocompatibility. Under acidic (pH=5) or alkaline (pH=10) conditions

especially when coupled with elevated reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels

the as-prepared PEDOT@BEV achieved rapid BEV release. This may be attributed to PEDOT oxidation and charge repulsion. In contrast

BEV release remained stable under physiological conditions (pH=7.4

0 mmol/L H

In vitro

results supported that the resulting PEDOT@BEV demonstrated potent anti-angiogenic efficacy

significantly inhibiting cellular migration and tube formation of human retinal vascular endothelial cells (HRVECs). The vascular endothelial growth factor expression was further reduced. In a mouse model of corneal neovascularization

the PEDOT@BEV system enabled the continuous controlled release of BEV for over 14 days. It exhibited superior anti-angiogenic efficacy compared to free BEV treatment

more effectively reducing neovascularization and corneal inflammation. The designed platform in this work demonstrated versatility by successfully incorporating other therapeutic antibodies (

e.g.

rituximab

trastuzumab)

highlighting its potential for ta

ilored drug delivery in oncology and neovascular diseases. The outcome of this study offers a promising strategy for spatiotemporally controlled drug release in response to specific microenvironmental cues.

关键词

Keywords

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