β-Glucan hybridized poly(ethylene glycol) microgels for macrophage-targeted protein delivery

Abstract Macrophages are crucial target cells for drug delivery due to their important roles in immune responses. An immunomodulating polysaccharide, β-glucan, was incorporated into poly(ethylene glycol) microgels via thiol-ene photo-crosslinking. Hybrid microgels of uniform size were obtained. The incorporation of β-glucan was confirmed by fluorescence observations and changes in surface charges. Cellular uptake test results demonstrated that the hybrid microgels were selectively internalized by murine macrophages. Such selective internalization was induced by β-glucan-mediated phagocytosis. The model drug release assay showed that bovine serum albumin loaded into the microgels was gradually released under both neutral and acidic conditions.