Figure 3.

The sustained-release pharmacokinetics of Hydrogel-Tac in the mouse model. 0.1 mL of hydrogel or Hydrogel-Tac was injected into the subcutaneous space of the hindlimb, which was near the transected sciatic nerve. At different time points, plasma and hindlimb muscle tissue (100 mg) were harvested from the mice treated with one subcutaneous injection of 0.1 mL of hydrogel or Hydrogel-Tac (2 mg/mL). 100 mg of muscle tissue was further digested to release tacrolimus and then dissolved in 300 μL of lysis buffer for the tacrolimus ELISA. (A) Tacrolimus concentration (ng/mL) in the blood of the hydrogel-injected mice was detected via tacrolimus ELISA. (B) Tacrolimus concentration (ng/g) in the hindlimb tissue of the hydrogel-injected mice was analyzed by tacrolimus ELISA. Tissue-S refers to the right hindlimb muscle and sciatic nerve tissue, which were on the same side as the hydrogel injection. Tissue-O refers to the left hindlimb muscle and sciatic nerve tissue, which were on the side opposite to the hydrogel injection. Day 0 means samples harvested from naïve C57BL/6 mice without any hydrogel injection. Each group had three mice. Mean ± SD was used to represent the statistical data.