{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,11]],"date-time":"2026-10-11T17:30:37Z","timestamp":1791739837306,"version":"4.3.4"},"reference-count":35,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,16]],"date-time":"2025-12-16T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1765843200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Gels"],"abstract":"<jats:p>This research successfully developed novel hydrogels composed of methacrylated dextran and inulin for targeted drug delivery in colorectal cancer therapy. The formulation exploits the natural degradation of both biopolymers by the large intestine\u2019s microflora. A key achievement was the development of a room-temperature free radical polymerization synthesis method. The study thoroughly investigated how varying inulin content (10 and 20 wt%) influenced the hydrogels\u2019 properties. The formulation with 20 wt% inulin exhibited the highest swelling ability at both pH 3 and pH 6, and consequently the lowest elastic modulus, measured by a newly established technique for granulated hydrogels. Using uracil as a model drug, in situ incorporated, confirmed that the greatest drug release occurs in the colorectal region for the neat dextran-based hydrogel, triggered by specific microbial enzymes. Notably, the addition of inulin did not enhance biodegradation-driven drug release in combination with dextran; instead, inulin primarily acted as a protective component against premature hydrolysis in the gastric medium. These findings strongly confirm that the targeted action is predominantly governed by the dextran component. The synthesized hydrogels, particularly the dextran-only formulation, therefore show strong potential as effective carriers for colon-targeted drug delivery. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of modified and unmodified dextran and inulin as biodegradable carriers for enzyme-triggered, colon-targeted drug delivery.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/gels11121011","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,16]],"date-time":"2025-12-16T15:41:12Z","timestamp":1765899672000},"page":"1011","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["The Influence of Synthesis Parameters on the Properties of Dextran-Based Hydrogels for Colon-Targeted Antitumor Drug Delivery Part I: Room Temperature Synthesis of Dextran\/Inulin Hydrogels for Colon-Targeted Antitumor Drug Delivery"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"11","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9765-8882","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tamara","family":"Erceg","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Technology Novi Sad, University of Novi Sad, Bulevar Cara Lazara 1, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6473-5282","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Milo\u0161","family":"Radosavljevi\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Technology Novi Sad, University of Novi Sad, Bulevar Cara Lazara 1, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9278-9330","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Milorad","family":"Milji\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Food Technology in Novi Sad, University of Novi Sad, Bulevar Cara Lazara 1, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5621-1788","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Aleksandra","family":"Cvetanovi\u0107 Kljaki\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Technology Novi Sad, University of Novi Sad, Bulevar Cara Lazara 1, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3828-8500","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sebastian","family":"Balo\u0161","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Technical Sciences, University of Novi Sad, Trg Dositeja Obradovi\u0107a 6, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Katarina Mi\u0161kovi\u0107","family":"\u0160poljari\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, Josipa Huttlera 4, 31000 Osijek, Croatia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1350-397X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ivan","family":"\u0106ori\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, Josipa Huttlera 4, 31000 Osijek, Croatia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7497-296X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ljubica","family":"Glava\u0161-Obrovac","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, Josipa Huttlera 4, 31000 Osijek, Croatia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9627-1598","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Aleksandra","family":"Torbica","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Food Technology in Novi Sad, University of Novi Sad, Bulevar Cara Lazara 1, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,16]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"100281","article-title":"Advances in the Delivery of Anticancer Drugs by Nanoparticles and Chitosan-Based Nanoparticles","volume":"8","year":"2024","journal-title":"Int. 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