Magnetic and self-healing chitosan-alginate hydrogel encapsulated gelatin microspheres via covalent cross-linking for drug delivery

Publication date: August 2019Source: Materials Science and Engineering: C, Volume 101Author(s): Xueyun Chen, Ming Fan, Huaping Tan, Bowen Ren, Guoliang Yuan, Yang Jia, Jianliang Li, Dangsheng Xiong, Xiaodong Xing, Xiaohong Niu, Xiaohong HuAbstractIn order to broaden the abilities of injectable hydrogel scaffolds, a self-healing chitosan/alginate hydrogel encapsulated with magnetic gelatin microspheres (MGMs) was prepared for anti-cancer drug delivery and soft tissue engineering. The hydrogel was formulated by cross-linking carboxyethyl chitosan (CEC) and oxidized alginate (OAlg) via the Schiff-base reaction. To strengthen the mechanical and biological capabilities of hydrogel, MGMs containing 5-fluorouracil (5-Fu) were prepared by an emulsion cross-linking method. In vitro gelation time, swelling ratio, degradation, compressive modulus and rheological behaviors were tested to monitor the effect of MGMs on the CEC-OAlg hydrogel. With a concentration of 30 mg/mL MGMs, the composite hydrogel provided with the suitable performance and showed excellent self-healing ability under physiological condition. Moreover, this composite hydrogel showed the sustained in vitro drug release compared with control MGMs and CEC-OAlg hydrogel. Our results demonstrated that this magnetic and self-healing CEC-OAlg hydrogel scaffold encapsulated MGMs containing 5-Fu was expected to be a platform for drug delivery and soft tissue engineering.
Source: Materials Science and Engineering: C - Category: Materials Science Source Type: research