Injectable and self-healing double network polysaccharide hydrogel as a minimally-invasive delivery platform

Injectable hydrogels exhibiting self-healing ability are promising carriers for controlled and sustained delivery in a minimally-invasive format for biomedical applications. We designed a polysaccharide-based double network hydrogel by mixing solutions of aldehyde-alginate (aAlg) and acrylic acid-chitosan (aCS) in the presence of adipic acid dihydrazide and FeCl2 that resulted in dual crosslinking mediated by Schiff base and ionic interactions. The hydrogel exhibited excellent thixotropic and self-healing properties with a high compressive fracture strength of asymptotic to 48 kPa. Encapsulated cells were viable within the hydrogel, and after their release from the degraded gel. The controlled release of Doxorubicin and Ciprofloxacin from the hydrogels established the gel as a delivery platform. The released drugs were effective in killing cancer cells or arresting the growth of both bacteria. This work presents a self-healing and injectable degradable hydrogel that may be used as a minimally-invasive platform for the delivery of drugs and cells.

Automated summary

The researchers developed a polysaccharide-based double network hydrogel with excellent thixotropic and self-healing properties, as well as high compressive fracture strength. Encapsulated cells remained viable within the hydrogel and released drugs effectively killed cancer cells or inhibited bacterial growth. This work demonstrates the potential of using the hydrogel as a minimally-invasive platform for drug and cell delivery.