Alginate-based hydrogels as drug delivery vehicles in cancer treatment and their applications in wound dressing and 3D bioprinting

Abstract

Hydrogels are a three-dimensional and crosslinked network of hydrophilic polymers. They can absorb a large amount of water or biological fluids, which leads to their swelling while maintaining their 3D structure without dissolving (Zhu and Marchant, Expert Rev Med Devices 8:607-626, 2011). Among the numerous polymers which have been utilized for the preparation of the hydrogels, polysaccharides have gained more attention in the area of pharmaceutics; Sodium alginate is a non-toxic, biocompatible, and biodegradable polysaccharide with several unique physicochemical properties for which has used as delivery vehicles for drugs (Kumar Giri et al., Curr Drug Deliv 9:539-555, 2012). Owing to their high-water content and resembling the natural soft tissue, hydrogels were studied a lot as a scaffold. The formation of hydrogels can occur by interactions of the anionic alginates with multivalent inorganic cations through a typical ionotropic gelation method. However, those applications require the control of some properties such as mechanical stiffness, swelling, degradation, cell attachment, and binding or release of bioactive molecules by using the chemical or physical modifications of the alginate hydrogel. In the current review, an overview of alginate hydrogels and their properties will be presented as well as the methods of producing alginate hydrogels. In the next section of the present review paper, the application of the alginate hydrogels will be defined as drug delivery vehicles for chemotherapeutic agents. The recent advances in the application of the alginate-based hydrogels will be describe later as a wound dressing and bioink in 3D bioprinting.

Sulfated Polysaccharides from Marine Algae as a Basis of Modern Biotechnologies for Creating Wound Dressings: Current Achievements and Future Prospects

“…The 3D reticulate structure of hydrogels simulates the microarchitectonics of extracellular matrix of native tissue, acts as a physical barrier against bacteria, providing optimal conditions in vivo for cell survival [21,45,55,61]. Furthermore, the attractiveness of seaweed-derived polysaccharides to be used as a material for creating hydrogels is explained by their biological activity, biocompatibility and biodegradability, as well as by the opportunity of physical and chemical modification of their structure [2,10,69,76,77].…”

“…They have long been effectively used as a gelling agent and stabilizer of various solutions and suspensions, as well as a valuable component in food, chemical, and biotechnological productions. These polysaccharides are an indispensable component of various products manufactured in the pharmaceutical and medical industry [77,79,80]. The unique characteristics of these metabolites have found application as a therapeutic basis for nanocomposite wound dressings [78,80,81].…”

Hypothesis: Advanced Biotechnological Treatment Approaches Against SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19)

“…Due to these properties, sodium alginate is a unique polysaccharide that can be used as a delivery tool for drugs. (13,14). Therefore, we preferred to use alginate nanoparticles in our project to use against COVID-19, which has a high rate of infecting cells, due to its drug release properties in a short time.…”

Design of an Interpenetrating Polymeric Network Hydrogel Made of Calcium-Alginate from a Thermos-Sensitive Pluronic Template as a Thermal-Ionic Reversible Wound Dressing

“…There are a variety of wound dressings, such as foam, fiber, hydrogel, and hydrocolloid, which have different performance characteristics, mechanisms, and functions [ 15 ]. Hydrogels have recently received much attention as appealing biomaterials that could serve as effective wound dressings by absorbing exudate fluid, creating a moist interface on the wound for better healing, and possessing a flexibility similar to that of human tissue [ 16 , 17 ].…”

“…To overcome the limitations of single-component hydrogels, hydrogels have been synthesized using nanocomposite, hybrid, and interpenetrating polymeric network (IPN) networks that endow the gels with superior and new functions. Polymeric network hydrogels have been found to possess greater mechanical strength and are able to absorb a large volume of wound exudate [ 16 , 30 , 38 ], while retaining their architecture, performance, and stability at the interface of the wound. They also minimize pain and further injury to the patient while changing the dressing.…”