Figure 3.

Schematic illustration demonstrating the mechanism of action of GEM/DDP-loaded thermal sensitive hydrogel. In water, the amphiphilic triblock copolymer (PDLLAPEG-PDLLA) underwent self-assembling into micelles at room temperature. GEM and DDP were dissolved into a predetermined amount of micelles solution to form a homogeneous (GEM-DDP/micelles) mixture. Upon exposure to body temperature, the resulting mixture spontaneously gelated into a cross-link hydrogel network (GEM-DDP/hydrogel). Following intra-tumoral injection, (GEM-DDP/hydrogel) dispersed around tumour sites, producing the sustained release of GEM and DPP, facilitating their synergic antitumour activity. Reprinted with permission from Shi et al. [91]. 2022, Springer Nature.