In the present study, we show how acrylamide-based microgels can be employed for the uptake and release of the drug β-aescin, a widely used natural product with a variety of pharmacological effects. We show how aescin is incorporated into the microgel particles. It has an important influence on the structure of the microgels, by reducing their natural network-density gradient in the swollen state. Moreover, temperature-dependent measurements reveal how the incorporation of aescin stabilizes the microgel particles, while the volume phase transition temperature (VPTT) is almost constant, which is very important for the intended drug release. Finally, it is shown that upon increase of the temperature above the VPTT the particles are able to release aescin from their network, encouraging the use of this particular drug delivery system for hypothermia treatments.

中文翻译：

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智能微凝胶作为天然药物七叶皂苷的药物输送载体：摄取、释放和相互作用

在本研究中，我们展示了基于丙烯酰胺的微凝胶如何用于药物 β-七叶皂苷的吸收和释放，β-七叶皂苷是一种广泛使用的天然产物，具有多种药理作用。我们展示了七叶皂苷是如何掺入微凝胶颗粒中的。它通过降低溶胀状态下的天然网络密度梯度，对微凝胶的结构有重要影响。此外，温度依赖性测量揭示了七叶皂苷的掺入如何稳定微凝胶颗粒，而体积相变温度 (VPTT) 几乎是恒定的，这对于预期的药物释放非常重要。最后，结果表明，当温度升高到 VPTT 以上时，颗粒能够从其网络中释放七叶皂苷，