Preparation of molecular imprinted injectable polymeric micro cryogels for control release of mitomycin C

In this work, microscale poly-2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate [p(HEMA)]-based cryogels were fabricated as a drug delivery material using molecular imprinting technology for controlled release of mitomycin C (MMC) as an anti-cancer drug. MMC imprinted pHEMA-based micro cryogels (pMIPs) were prepared according to free-radical polymerization by using N-methacryloyl-(l)-histidine methyl ester (MAH) as an amino-acid-based polymerizable functional monomer using a micro stencil array chip with microwells of 200 μm diameter and 500 μm thickness. Following that, scanning electron microscope, swelling test, and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy were used for the characterization studies of pMIPs. After the characterization studies, MMC release performance of pMIPs was investigated towards the different pH values and various MMC concentrations in the aqueous solutions. The in vitro cytotoxicity studies of the pMIPs and the non-imprinted pHEMA based micro cryogels (pNIPs) were examined using L929 cell line. According to the experimental findings, the incorporation of MAH monomer could increase the release performance of pMIPs and the release of MMC from the pMIPs was non-Fickian in the aqueous solution. pMIPs did not show any noticeable cytotoxicity and could be potentially used as a new drug carrier for MMC release.