In Situ-Forming Cellulose/Albumin-Based Injectable Hydrogels for Localized Antitumor Therapy

Injectable hydrogels, which are formed in situ by changing the external stimuli, have the unique characteristics of easy handling and minimal invasiveness, thus providing the advantage of bypass surgical operation and improving patient compliance. Using external temperature stimuli to realize the sol-to-gel transition when preparing injectable hydrogel is essential since the temperature is stable in vivo and controllable during ex vivo, although the hydrogels obtained possibly have low mechanical strength and stability. In this work, we designed an in situ fast-forming injectable cellulose/albumin-based hydrogel (HPC-g-AA/BSA hydrogels) that responded to body temperature and which was a well-stabilized hydrogen-bonding network, effectively solving the problem of poor mechanical properties. The application of localized delivery of chemotherapeutic drugs of HPC-g-AA/BSA hydrogels was evaluated. In vitro and in vivo results show that HPC-g-AA/BSA hydrogels exhibited higher antitumor efficacy of reducing tumor size and seem ideal for localized antitumor therapy.