Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2019 Sep 19;11(9):486.
doi: 10.3390/pharmaceutics11090486.

Injectable Hydrogels for Cancer Therapy over the Last Decade

Giuseppe Cirillo  1 , Umile Gianfranco Spizzirri  2 , Manuela Curcio  3 , Fiore Pasquale Nicoletta  4 , Francesca Iemma  5
Affiliations
Review

Injectable Hydrogels for Cancer Therapy over the Last Decade

Giuseppe Cirillo et al. Pharmaceutics. .

Abstract

The interest in injectable hydrogels for cancer treatment has been significantly growing over the last decade, due to the availability of a wide range of starting polymer structures with tailored features and high chemical versatility. Many research groups are working on the development of highly engineered injectable delivery vehicle systems suitable for combined chemo-and radio-therapy, as well as thermal and photo-thermal ablation, with the aim of finding out effective solutions to overcome the current obstacles of conventional therapeutic protocols. Within this work, we have reviewed and discussed the most recent injectable hydrogel systems, focusing on the structure and properties of the starting polymers, which are mainly classified into natural or synthetic sources. Moreover, mapping the research landscape of the fabrication strategies, the main outcome of each system is discussed in light of possible clinical applications.

Keywords: anticancer activity; drug delivery; injectable hydrogels; natural polymers; stimuli-responsive materials; synthetic polymers.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Application of injectable hydrogel systems in biomedical field. Reproduced with permission from [3]. Elsevier, [2018].
Figure 2
Figure 2
Representation of Polyphosphazenes. X = O, NH; R and R1 = Alkyl, Aryl, amino acid.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Schematic representation of poloxamers. x: 2–130; y: 15–67.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Schematic representation of the PTX-NPs/AuNRs/gel-mediated photothermal–chemotherapy. PTX: Paclitaxel; GNR: Gold NanoRods; NIR: Near InfraRed. Adapted with permission from [62]. Elsevier, [2016].
Figure 5
Figure 5
Schematic representation of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and main biodegradable polyesters. PLA: Polylactide; PCB: Polycarbonate; PLGA: Poly(lactide-co-glycolide); PCL: Poly(ε-caprolactone); PU: Poly(urethane).
Figure 6
Figure 6
Schematic illustration of localized hydrogel formation and drug release. Adapted with permission from [86]; Elsevier, [2018].
Figure 7
Figure 7
Schematic representation of the main acrylate polymers. PAA: Poly(acrylic acid); PAAR: N-alkyl poly(acrylic amide); PEG-PA: PEGylated poly(methacrylic acid).
Figure 8
Figure 8
Schematic representation of synthetic polypeptides.
Figure 9
Figure 9
In vivo modulation of dendritic cells (DCs) by sustained release of tumor antigens and tumor cell lysates 3 (TLR3) agonist from a polypeptide hydrogel, evoking a strong cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) response. With permission from [157]; Elsevier, [2018].
Figure 10
Figure 10
Schematic representation of polyamidoamine (PAMAM )dendrimer.
Figure 11
Figure 11
Schematic representation of chitosan (CS).
Figure 12
Figure 12
Schematic representation of hyaluronic acid (HA).
Figure 13
Figure 13
Schematic illustration of in situ formation of IFN-α-incorporated HA–Tyr hydrogels through enzymatic cross-linking reaction. HRP: horseradish peroxidase. With permission from [236]. Elsevier, [2016].
Figure 14
Figure 14
Schematic representation of cellulose (CL).
Figure 15
Figure 15
Schematic representation of alginate (ALG).
Figure 16
Figure 16
Schematic representation of dextran (DEX).
Figure 17
Figure 17
Schematic representation of gellan gum (GG).
Figure 18
Figure 18
Schematic representation of agarose (AGR).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Li Y., Rodrigues J., Tomás H. Injectable and biodegradable hydrogels: Gelation, biodegradation and biomedical applications. Chem. Soc. Rev. 2012;41:2193–2221. doi: 10.1039/C1CS15203C. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Norouzi M., Nazari B., Miller D.W. Injectable hydrogel-based drug delivery systems for local cancer therapy. Drug Discov. Today. 2016;21:1835–1849. doi: 10.1016/j.drudis.2016.07.006. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Mathew A.P., Uthaman S., Cho K.H., Cho C.S., Park I.K. Injectable hydrogels for delivering biotherapeutic molecules. Int. J. Biol. Macromol. 2018;110:17–29. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2017.11.113. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Yu S., He C., Chen X. Injectable Hydrogels as Unique Platforms for Local Chemotherapeutics-Based Combination Antitumor Therapy. Macromol. Biosci. 2018;18 doi: 10.1002/mabi.201800240. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Ko D.Y., Shinde U.P., Yeon B., Jeong B. Recent progress of in situ formed gels for biomedical applications. Prog. Polym. Sci. 2013;38:672–701. doi: 10.1016/j.progpolymsci.2012.08.002. - DOI

LinkOut - more resources