Multi-Responsive Chitosan-Based Hydrogels for Controlled Release of Vincristine: Design, Characterization, and Safety Evaluation

Abstract As medical research has progressed, the derivation and development of biological materials such as hydrogels have steadily gained more interest. The biocompatibility and non-toxicity of chitosan make chitosan hydrogels potential carriers for drug delivery. This work aims to develop two multi-reactive, safe and highly swellable bio-hydrogels consisting of chitosan-graft-glycerol (CS-g-gly) and carboxymethyl chitosan-graft-glycerol (CMCS-g-gly), for sustained and controlled drug release, improved bioavailability along with entrapment in nanocarriers, which reduces side effects of vincristine sulphate. CS-g-gly and CMCS-g-gly were successfully prepared and fully characterized using FT-IR, 1HNMR, FE-SEM, AFM, TGA, DLS, and zeta potential techniques. Under various conditions, the prepared hydrogels exhibited a high swelling ratio. Vincristine loaded CS-g-gly (VCR/CS-g-gly) and CMCS-g-gly (VCR/CMCS-g-gly) showed high encapsulation efficiency between 72.28–89.97%, and 56.97–71.91%, respectively. VCR/CS-g-gly showed a sustained release behavior, and the maximum release of VCR from hydrogels reached 82% after 120 h of incubation. MCF-7 and MCF-10 cells were evaluated for cell viability and apoptosis induction. The in-vitro anti-tumor efficacy was investigated using flow cytometry. MTT analysis of hydrogels showed no evidence of significant cytotoxicity in MCF-7 and MCF-10 cells. According to these findings, these hydrogels could effectively deliver drugs to MCF-7 and other breast cancer cells.