ALBA Synchrotron
A new study focus on the design of gelatin hydrogels from tuna skin that act as biocompatible systems to encapsulate and release next-generation antitumor compounds for breast cancer treatment. Analysis at the MIRAS beamline of ALBA have been carried out for this study.
Through the use of a byproduct from the fishing industry, a multidisciplinary team acquired natural hydrogels from the collagen in tuna skin and evaluated their use as a potential system for the controlled release of pharmaceutical’s delivery.
Specifically, they worked with two compounds aimed at breast cancer treatment: the BET JQ1 inhibitor and PROTAC MZ1. The goal of the work is to establish the scientific basis for advancing toward more precise and localized cancer therapies that also improve patients' quality of life.
Hydrogels derived from tuna skin collagen are biocompatible and biodegradable. Furthermore, as they are made of collagen type I —the most prevalent structural protein in our bodies— they contained a structure and consistency that allow them to be injected. All these properties make them good candidates for encapsulating drugs that can be delivered precisely where they need to be released for controlled and precise actions.
As a result of a collaboration between the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, the University of Castilla-La Mancha, the University of Vigo, the Institute of Marine Research (CSIC), the San Carlos Health Research Institute, the Fundación Jiménez Díaz, and the MIRAS beamline of the ALBA Synchrotron, a group of experts in biomaterials, chemistry, physics, cell biology, and experimental oncology analyzed different aspects of one of these tuna skin hydrogels to determine its potential medical applications, from the creation of the gel itself to the method of incorporating and releasing pharmaceuticals.
The study, recently published in the European Journal of Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics, demonstrates how an injection with this hydrogel was simulated in the laboratory by using rheology. It was verified that the material flows and, once deposited, stabilizes again in the body. Furthermore, in in vitro studies using three breast cancer cell lines, drugs encapsulated in the hydrogel remained active: they reduced cell viability and migration, as well as promoted apoptosis, with results similar to those of the compounds in their free state. The formulation also alleviates the drawbacks of low solubility and potential systemic toxicity.
At a societal level, this work establishes a scientific basis for research into more precise and localized cancer therapies, with the potential to reduce side effects and improve patients' quality of life. In addition, the collagen produced from byproducts of the fishing industry contributes to the utilization of natural resources that would otherwise be marginalized and underutilized, aligning with sustainability and circular economy principles in biomedicine.
According to Carolina Hermida, a researcher at UPM: “This work lays the groundwork for further studies in 3D models and animal testing to determine the safety, degradation, retention, and distribution of the system, as well as the extent to which it can be used for precision medicine and targeted treatments, which could lead to other applications.”