Citation: Zhengzheng Lv, Xin Xia, Peisheng Cao, Qi Han, Hang Zhao, Ronghui Zhou, Peng Wu. Overcoming the drug retention barrier with photosensitive hydrogel for sustained photodynamic therapy of oral leukoplakia[J]. Chinese Chemical Letters, ;2026, 37(5): 111282. doi: 10.1016/j.cclet.2025.111282 shu

Overcoming the drug retention barrier with photosensitive hydrogel for sustained photodynamic therapy of oral leukoplakia

Zhengzheng Lv ^a ,
Xin Xia ^b ,
Peisheng Cao ^a ,
Qi Han ^c ,
Hang Zhao ^b ,
Ronghui Zhou ^{b, *,} ,
Peng Wu ^a

a.
Analytical & Testing Center, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China
b.
State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China
c.
West China Hospital of Stomatology, Oral Pathology, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China

zhouronghui@scu.edu.cn

Received Date: 1 April 2025
Revised Date: 29 April 2025
Accepted Date: 30 April 2025
Available Online: 30 April 2025

Figures(5)

Oral leukoplakia (OLK) is a common and representative malignant disease of oral mucosa, and possess a higher risk of cancer. Compared with traditional surgical treatment, photodynamic therapy (PDT) has great potential in OLK treatment, due to its advantages of minimally invasiveness and low toxic side effects. However, traditional photosensitizer administration suffers from short retention time due to the fluid environment of saliva and extensive tongue movement, leading to poor drug (photosensitizer) utilization and limited therapeutic outcome. To address such issue, here a photosensitive guanosine (G)-based hydrogel system (G@GQD) was constructed, in which graphene quantum dots (GQDs) featuring high photosensitization activity was loaded through three dimensional (3D) fiber network physical encapsulation. The favorable adhesion of the G@GQD hydrogel on the tongue, together with sustained GQDs release, significantly enhanced the retention of GQDs within the oral cavity. As a result, G@GQD hydrogel could continuously generate high levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) under irradiation, demonstrating a sustained therapeutic efficiency in vitro. Compared with free GQDs, G@GQD exhibited significantly improved PDT efficiency in treating 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide (4-NQO)-induced OLK animals. This study presented a promising strategy in overcoming the drug retention barrier that caused by saliva and tongue movement, which has far-reaching significance for the future PDT therapies.
- Oral leukoplakia,
- Photosensitive hydrogel,
- Graphene quantum dots,
- Drug retention time,
- Sustained photodynamic therapy
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沈阳化工大学材料科学与工程学院沈阳 110142