Injectable bioresorbable conductive hydrogels for multimodal brain tumor electroimmunotherapy

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Neuroscience
• Oncology

Background:

• Current brain electrode technologies are too rigid for safe electrotherapy delivery.
• Glioblastoma patients have a poor prognosis despite conventional treatments that can suppress immune function.
• There is an urgent need for immune-activating therapies for glioblastoma.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop injectable conductive hydrogels matching brain tissue softness for enhanced electrotherapy delivery.
• To investigate the efficacy of these hydrogels in treating glioblastoma.
• To evaluate the immune-activating potential of the novel hydrogel-based therapy.

Main Methods:

• Engineered injectable conductive hydrogels with high conductivity and brain-tissue-like softness.
• Minimally invasive implantation via narrow capillaries (30 µm), convection-enhanced delivery (CED), or endovascular catheters.
• Tested in a human glioblastoma xenograft model in the chicken chorioallantoic membrane.

Main Results:

• Hydrogels exhibited significantly higher conductivity than previously reported injectable hydrogels.
• Tumor obliteration was achieved within three days using CED followed by irreversible electroporation.
• Other injection methods inhibited tumor growth, induced immunogenic cell death, and promoted immune cell infiltration.

Conclusions:

• Injectable conductive hydrogels represent a promising new platform for minimally invasive brain electrotherapy.
• This approach demonstrates potential for both direct tumor destruction and immune system activation against glioblastoma.
• The technology may reduce the need for open brain surgery and improve glioblastoma treatment outcomes.