Doublestimuli‐responsive degradable hydrogels for drug delivery: Interpenetrating polymer networks composed of oligopeptide‐terminated poly(ethylene glycol) and dextran

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Abstract
Biodegradable hydrogels composed of oligopeptide‐terminated poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and dextran with interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) structure were proposed as a novel substrate for multistimuli‐responsive drug delivery. IPN‐structured hydrogels were synthesized by sequential crosslinking reactions of N‐methacryloyl‐glycilglycilglycil‐terminated PEG and dextran. In vitro degradation of the IPN‐structured hydrogels was examined using papain and dextranase as model enzymes for hydrolyzing the oligopeptide and the dextran. Specific degradation in the presence of papain and dextranase was observed in the IPN‐structured hydrogel with a particular composition of PEG and dextran, whereas this hydrogel was not degraded by one of the two enzymes.