Aloe-Alginate Hydrogels for Cervical Cancer Treatment: Antioxidant and Drug Release Activity

Conference Year

January 2019

Abstract

Cervical carcinoma is the second most prevalent cancer affecting women today. The human papilloma virus (HPV) is a common precursor to cervical carcinoma, and greatly increases a woman’s risk of developing cervical cancer if contracted. The current state of the field relies heavily upon screening and pre-clinical testing to prevent cervical carcinoma and detect it as early as possible. When cervical cancer develops treatment is limited; patients undergo a hysterectomy followed by both local radiation and systemic chemotherapeutic treatment. Localized chemotherapeutic delivery greatly reduces the adverse effects of chemotherapy and may be employed as radiation sensitizers are adjuvant therapies. For non-traditional therapy, aloe vera (barbadensis miller) is investigated for medicinal purposes: it is an antioxidant, beneficial for the natural vaginal biome, and promotes re-epithelization of the cervix. Alginate is studied as a drug delivery vehicle for its non-toxic cross-linking ability. The current study aims to develop an aloe/alginate hydrogel for the localized delivery of a chemotherapeutic to the cervix. It was hypothesized that the natural-based hydrogels will exhibit appropriate mechanical properties and anti-cancer biological activity based on antioxidant level [1,2, 3] and drug encapsulation and release.

Primary Faculty Mentor Name

Rachael Oldinski

Graduate Student Mentors

Ceres Rafiq

Faculty/Staff Collaborators

Patrick Charron (Laboratory Technician)

Status

Undergraduate

Student College

College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences

Program/Major

Biomedical Engineering

Primary Research Category

Engineering & Physical Sciences

Secondary Research Category

Biological Sciences

Abstract only.

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Aloe-Alginate Hydrogels for Cervical Cancer Treatment: Antioxidant and Drug Release Activity

Cervical carcinoma is the second most prevalent cancer affecting women today. The human papilloma virus (HPV) is a common precursor to cervical carcinoma, and greatly increases a woman’s risk of developing cervical cancer if contracted. The current state of the field relies heavily upon screening and pre-clinical testing to prevent cervical carcinoma and detect it as early as possible. When cervical cancer develops treatment is limited; patients undergo a hysterectomy followed by both local radiation and systemic chemotherapeutic treatment. Localized chemotherapeutic delivery greatly reduces the adverse effects of chemotherapy and may be employed as radiation sensitizers are adjuvant therapies. For non-traditional therapy, aloe vera (barbadensis miller) is investigated for medicinal purposes: it is an antioxidant, beneficial for the natural vaginal biome, and promotes re-epithelization of the cervix. Alginate is studied as a drug delivery vehicle for its non-toxic cross-linking ability. The current study aims to develop an aloe/alginate hydrogel for the localized delivery of a chemotherapeutic to the cervix. It was hypothesized that the natural-based hydrogels will exhibit appropriate mechanical properties and anti-cancer biological activity based on antioxidant level [1,2, 3] and drug encapsulation and release.