Hybrid in situ- forming injectable hydrogels for local cancer therapy

Injectable in situ forming hydrogels are amongst the efficient local drug delivery systems for cancer therapy. Providing a 3D hydrogel network within the target tissue capable of sustained release of the chemotherapeutics made them attractive candidates for increasing the therapeutic index. Remarkable swelling properties, mechanical strength, biocompatibility, wide composition variety and tunable polymeric moieties have led to preparation of injectable hydrogels which also could be used as cavity adaptive chemotherapeutic-loaded implants to prevent post-surgical cancer recurrence. Implementation of various polymers, nanoparticles, peptide and proteins and different crosslinking chemistry facilitated the fabrication of hybrid hydrogels with favorable characteristics such as stimuli sensitive platforms or multifunctional systems. In the current review, we focused on design and fabrication strategies of injectable in situ forming hydrogels and summarized recent hybrid hydrogels used for local cancer therapy.

Automated summary

Injectable in situ forming hydrogels are efficient local drug delivery systems for cancer therapy. They can provide sustained release of chemotherapeutics and potentially prevent post-surgical cancer recurrence. Various materials and crosslinking chemistry can be used to fabricate hybrid hydrogels with different characteristics, such as stimuli-sensitive platforms or multifunctional systems.