Regulable preparation of PDA-integrated silk fibroin/polyvinyl alcohol composite hydrogels with interpenetrating network for NIR-triggered drug release

Abstract

The modulation of structural and mechanical properties through construction of interpenetrating (IPN) hydrogels offers significant potential for expanding their applications as drug carriers. In this study, a silk fibroin (SF)/Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/polydopamine particles (PDA) hydrogel with IPN structure for near-infrared (NIR)-responsive controlled release of drugs were prepared by combining enzyme crosslinking with freeze–thaw cycles treatment. Compared with SF/PVA hydrogels prepared solely by enzyme crosslinking, the IPN hydrogels exhibited enhanced stability, a more ordered pore structure, and improved mechanical property. The hydrogels withstood 90 % of compressive deformation without breaking, and the maximum tensile strain at break reached 140.07 %. Moreover, the mechanical properties of the hydrogels were tunable by adjusting the ratio and concentration of SF and PVA. The incorporation of PDA particles into the IPN SF/PVA hydrogel endowed the material with excellent NIR responsiveness. Upon 808 nm NIR irradiation for 10 min, the temperature increased by 19.8°C, with stable photothermal conversion performance maintained over three irradiation cycles. In addition, SF/PVA/PDA hydrogels exhibited good biocompatibility and NIR-responsive drug release capability. These findings highlight the potential of this SF/PVA/PDA hydrogel as a promising material for drug-controlled release applications.