Zongrui Tong, Quanshi Guo, Guangyu Xu, Yong Gao, Huang Yang, Yuan Ding*, Weilin Wang*, Zhengwei Mao*. 

Abstract

The need for tumor postoperative treatments aimed at recurrence prevention and tissue regeneration have raised wide considerations in the context of the design and functionalization of implants. Supramolecular hydrogel is an ideal choice due to its compatibility, injectability, and ease of functionalization. Herein, we developed supramolecular hydrogel-loaded Prussian blue nanoparticles (PB NPs) for postoperative treatments. Biocompatible gellan gum was modified with host (cyclodextrin) or guest (adamantane) molecules to form supramolecular hydrogels (GEL) for local therapy. Hollow mesoporous Prussian blue nanoparticles (HMPB NPs) were prepared for use as photothermal agents and reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavengers. Further supramolecular hydrogels containing HMPB NPs loading doxorubicin (HMPB-DOX@GEL) were designed as multifunctional postoperative implants to ensure effective residual tumor elimination and oxidative relief. In vitro and in vivo experiments were carried out to verify the elimination of cancer cells and tumor recurrence prevention through combinational chemotherapy/photothermal therapy with HMPB-DOX@GEL. The tissue regeneration acceleration and in vivo ROS scavenging of HMPB@GEL were verified using diabetic mouse models of wound healing. The findings thus show that, because of the effective tumor recurrence prevention and wound healing acceleration of the multifunctional hydrogels developed here, they are promising for application in tumor postoperative treatments.

Keywords: Supramolecular hydrogel; Prussian blue; Gellan gum; ROS scavenger; Locoregional chemotherapy